The New York Giants are continuing to be aggressive in adding to their defensive tackle room following the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Giants are signing 10-year NFL veteran DJ Reader to a two-year free agent contract, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is not official.
Reader’s deal will be worth up to $15.5 million with a base value of $12.5 million.
The Giants will be the fourth different team for which Reader has played across his career. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Houston Texans, the next four with the Cincinnati Bengals and the most recent two with the Detroit Lions.
Reader started all 17 games for the Lions in 2025. He failed to record a sack but logged 28 tackles while grading as Pro Football Focus‘ 32nd-best interior defender among 127 qualified players.
Reader has never been much of a pass rusher during his career, notching only 12.5 total sacks in 137 games (128 starts). That said, the 31-year-old has long been considered a top NFL run stopper thanks to his powerful 6-3, 330-pound frame and should reprise that familiar role with the Giants.
Reader is the third, veteran defensive tackle to ink a contract with the Giants following April’s draft. New York also signed Leki Fotu and Shelby Harris to provide depth to a position group that was thinned significantly by its top talent, Dexter Lawrence, being traded to the Cincinnati Bengals a week ahead of the draft.
Soon, Giants fans will see how the trio of new additions – along with rookie sixth-rounder Bobby Jamison-Travis – fit into John Harbaugh and Dennard Wilson’s plans along the defensive line.
D.J. Reader contract details
Below are the full reported details of Reader’s contract with the Giants:
- Term: 2 years
- Total value: $12.5 million
- Average annual value (AAV): $6.25 million
Reader can make an additional $3 million in incentives that could raise the total value of his contract to $15.5 million.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giants sign potential Dexter Lawrence replacement in DJ Reader
