David Vernon "D. J." Reader Jr. (born July 1, 1994) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

. He previously played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

College career

Reader played

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

. Reader was a pitcher for Tigers baseball in its 2013 season.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Reader was selected by the

in the fifth round (166th overall) of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. The Texans had previously obtained the aforementioned pick in a trade that sent

Keshawn Martin Keshawn Charles Martin (born March 15, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and was selected by the Hou ...

to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. He started seven games in his rookie year logging one

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

, seven solo

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and 15 assisted tackles. In 2017, Reader replaced the retired

Vince Wilfork Vincent Lamar Wilfork (born November 4, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a nose tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football fo ...

as the Texans starting

. He started the first 14 games of the season before being placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 19, 2017. On September 9, 2018, during the 2018 season opener against the

, Reader had the first multi-sack game of his career with 2 on

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

. In Week 3 of the 2019 season against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, Reader recorded 1.5 sacks on

Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football for the ...

in the 27–20 win.

Cincinnati Bengals

On April 2, 2020, Reader signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on October 12, 2020, with a quad injury. Reader was named the starting nose tackle for the Bengals in 2021. He finished the season with 43 tackles and two sacks. In Reader's second season with the Bengals, the team won three playoff games to reach

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 NFL season, 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2021 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles ...

. Reader recorded a sack in a 23–20 loss to the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. Reader suffered a knee injury in Week 3 of the 2022 season and was placed on injured reserve on September 29, 2022. He was activated on November 19, and played in each of the team's remaining seven regular season games, all victories. Cincinnati won the

AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realign ...

with a 12–4 record and entered the postseason on an eight-game winning streak. Reader recorded two solo tackles in the team's 24–17 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round, and another two tackles (one solo) in a 27–10 win over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. For the third season in a row in 2023, Reader was named the team's starting nose tackle. His only sack of the season came in Week 3 against the Rams. In Week 15 against the Minnesota Vikings, Reader went down with an injury on the second play of the game. He was later diagnosed with a torn quadriceps tendon the following day, ending his 2023 campaign. He finished the season with 34 tackles, one sack, and one pass deflection.

Detroit Lions

On March 14, 2024, Reader signed with the

Personal life

Reader's father, David Sr., died from kidney failure on June 30, 2014. Reader has one son, born in November 2019.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Detroit Lions bioClemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reader, D. J. 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Greensboro, North Carolina American football defensive tackles Clemson Tigers baseball players Clemson Tigers football players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Cincinnati Bengals players Grimsley High School alumni Baseball players from Greensboro, North Carolina Baseball pitchers