The Lions wanted another playmaker on defense, and they just added a big one.
The club has agreed to a two-year, $27 million deal with former Bengals defensive tackle D.J. Reader, according to the NFL Network. The eight-year vet adds a run-stopping behemoth to a defense that was already one of the best in the NFL in that department last season. He can also get after the passer from the interior.
Reader, who turns 30 this summer, missed the end of last season with a torn quad that required surgery, but the Lions brought him in Wednesday for a visit and "everything checked out," per the NFL Network. He should team up with Alim McNeill to give Detroit a dynamic duo in the trenches.
Listed at 6'3, 335 pounds, Reader had 34 tackles in 14 games last season. McNeill, 6'2, 315 pounds, had 32 tackles in 13 games. Both ranked among the NFL's 10 best interior defenders against the run, per Pro Football Focus -- and both also generated 34 quarterback pressures.
Reader was 13th overall among interior defenders, per PFF, McNeill sixth.
The Lions were stout against the run as a unit, allowing the second fewest rushing yards per game (88.7) and third fewest yards per carry (3.7) in the NFL. And that was without McNeill for four games late in the year. They should be even stronger next season.