The Cincinnati Bengals plugged a major hole in their defensive line when they signed DT D.J. Reader back in 2020. He proved to be a core piece of their defense for the past four seasons, and they noticeably suffered when he missed time. Now a Detroit Lions, the Bengals may find they miss him in a big way. But they were unwilling to pony up as much as the Lions were, which Reader didn’t count on.
“Yeah, [I was surprised] a little bit”, he said in his introductory press conference with the Lions, via the team’s website, about not re-signing with the Bengals.