For the Detroit Lions, general manager Brad Holmes added a huge, run-stuffing defensive lineman to his free agent haul.

After visiting Allen Park on Thursday, Holmes inked two-year deal with veteran defensive lineman DJ Reader.

One of the most formidable inside defenders in the league is Reader, who turns 30 in July. Throughout his career, he has been excellent against the run and can cause some disruption in the passing game. Despite having only 9.5 career sacks after eight seasons, he has generated at least 32 pressures in the previous three campaigns.

He was ranked two positions behind Elim McNeill as the NFL’s top interior run defender last season, giving the Lions a strong wall in the interior of their defensive line against the run.

Regarding partnering with McNeill in the upcoming season, Reader expressed her excitement on Thursday. “Young athlete with a ton of talent. He’s a Carolina guy, too. It makes me really pleased. I’m in love with Carolina boys. The nation’s top athletes are found there. On that, feel free to quote me.

“I can’t wait to work in pairs with him and observe his strengths. I constantly watch him on screen. I can’t wait to spend some time with him and ask him about his favorite aspects of the job. I want to talk to him about it, pick his brain, find out what he’s up to, and see what the future holds because every man has different things they appreciate about playing D-tackle.

During the reader’s visit to Allen Park, his medical records were reviewed. He tore his quadriceps last season, which kept him out of the final three games. In 2020, during his rookie season with Cincinnati, he tore his other quad.

Compared to his initial quad injury, he stated he’s come a long way in his rehabilitation and should be ready to play by the beginning of the season. After the initial injury in 2021, Reader had a career year.

“My previous quad injury returned and I went to the Super Bowl.” During the Super Bowl, I was sacked. “You mean, balled out?” he asked. Here, too, that assurance is present. I’m quite confident in where I’m heading.”

Reader’s addition will improve an already excellent run defense. Last season, Detroit gave up the fewest rushing yards, the third-lowest rushing average against, and the third-fewest rushes of ten yards or more.

The bulk of McNeill’s snaps last season were shared by nose tackle Benito Jones, who signed with Miami after the Lions failed to tender him as a restricted free agent.Last season, Brodric Martin and Levi Onwuzurike were used as backups.

In Cincinnati, Reader captained the team twice. During the NFL Scouting Combine last month, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo discussed the value of Reader to his defense with Bengals reporters.

According to Anarumo, “DJ is (a) hard guy to replace,” via Cincinnati Bengals Talk.

“Hopefully we don’t have to, but he’s a fantastic guy in the locker room to begin with, and he simply does a great job controlling blocks within the defense. There are many things that the public is blind to.

“In that situation, you cannot look at DJ Reader and say, ‘Let me look at his numbers.'” He is simply unstoppable when it comes to taking on blocks, facing double teams, and staying put, yet having respectable stats for the position. And without that, further problems arise because it prevents others from creating plays.”

Reader claimed he got a sense of the atmosphere as soon as he entered the Allen Park practice site and began speaking with Holmes, head coach Dan Campbell, and the other coaches. He also noted how eager everyone was to do the tasks they were unable to complete the previous season. He hopes he can contribute significantly to it as well.

“These guys got that same taste in their mouth that I do,” stated Reader. “I lost the Super Bowl that I went to. These men lost when they advanced to the NFC Championship. I’m thrilled that everyone in this building shares the same objective of going to get that taste out of their mouths. Right now, I could run through a wall over that.

“You don’t (always) get time to right those wrongs and this is an opportunity and I don’t think we are going to take it lightly as a team to go out there and do our thing.”