2026 will be D.J. Reader’s 11th NFL season. Kimberly P. Mitchell / Imagn Images
May 5, 2026Updated 4:54 pm EDT
The New York Giants agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million deal with defensive tackle D.J. Reader, according to a league source.
The signing significantly boosts the Giants’ defensive line, which underwent a massive overhaul after Dexter Lawrence’s pre-NFL Draft trade to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Giants only addressed the position later in the draft by adding Bobby Jamison-Travis in the sixth round, but they planned on using the post-draft free-agent market for additional help.
Last week, the team signed free agent Shelby Harris on a one-year, $3 million deal, along with Leki Fotu. Reader, a nose tackle, will fill the positional void that opened with Lawrence’s departure.
Reader, 31, has appeared in 138 games over his career. A fifth-round selection of the Texans in 2016, he spent four seasons in Houston before signing a deal with the Bengals in 2020. Reader played the last two seasons for the Detroit Lions, tallying 51 tackles, 40 pressures, 12 quarterback hits and three sacks in those two years.
May 5, 2026
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