Jordan Raanan
Multiple Authors
The New York Giants have agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million contract sign veteran defensive tackle DJ Reader, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday.
Reader can make up to $15.5 million through incentives, the source told Fowler.
The move comes more than two weeks after the Giants traded standout defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II to the Cincinnati Bengals for the 10th overall pick in the NFL draft. New York also drafted Bobby Jamison-Travis in the sixth round last month.
Last week, the Giants also signed veteran defensive tackle Shelby Harris to a one-year contract.
The Giants have been adamant about adding to the interior of their defensive line, even before trading Lawrence. They allowed a league-worst 5.3 yards per carry last season.
Reader, 31, spent the past two seasons with the Detroit Lions. He previously played for the Bengals and Houston Texans.
Reader led the NFL last year with a 71.7% double-team rate. He had 28 tackles, nine pressures and four quarterback hits. His 26.0% run stop win rate was below league average and behind Lawrence (31.5%).
New York had Reader, Harris and Benito Jones visit in recent weeks. Reader also visited the Baltimore Ravens last month.
The Giants said after the draft the defensive tackle position was a priority.
Lawrence started last season between Roy Robertson-Harris and Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Nunez-Roches was a free agent and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Giants plan for second-year defensive lineman Darius Alexander to play a bigger role but still needed to add to the line. In particular, they were searching for a big run-stuffing nose tackle to anchor their run defense.
John Harbaugh was hired as the Giants head coach earlier this year. He brought Dennard Wilson with him as his defensive coordinator. Wilson’s defense is expected to be similar to what they ran in year under Harbaugh in Baltimore, with a sturdy nose tackle as a key component to the run defense.
Reader (6-foot-3, 330) fits the description. He has played in 137 career games with 128 starts and has 328 tackles and 12.5 sacks in 10 professional seasons with the Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals and Lions.
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