DJ Reader's journey with Bengals is coming full circle
When the Cincinnati Bengals decided to dive into the deep end of free agency for the very first time, nose tackle DJ Reader was their first catch. The bait was a four-year, $53 million contract; an unprecedented figure for the franchise regarding external free agents. Risk was always the reasoning behind the Bengals avoiding contracts […]
When the Cincinnati Bengals decided to dive into the deep end of free agency for the very first time, nose tackle DJ Reader was their first catch. The bait was a four-year, $53 million contract; an unprecedented figure for the franchise regarding external free agents.
Risk was always the reasoning behind the Bengals avoiding contracts like the one Reader signed. Committing dozens of millions to players who weren't originally developed by the team scared the Bengals from making an evolution they so desperately needed.
Reader couldn't have been a better first step for them to take.
Since arriving in Cincinnati, Reader has been everything the Bengals desired and then some. He's become one of the very best players at his position, and a bonafide leader of a well-respected defense. The entire unit is impacted by his presence, and the results are much different when he's absent.
Now, entering the final year of his contract, Reader is feeling optimistic about where the team is entering training camp.
“It’s going good, I can’t complain,” Reader told Houston's KPRC 2 over the weekend. “Offseason is going great, trying to get better. We’ve got to earn it every year. We’re just working hard. I feel like we have all the right pieces. You’ve got to go out there and execute every day, and we’re seeing how important it is to execute.”
Reader's done nothing but "earn it" over the past three years. His 2020 season got wiped out after five games with a calf injury. His return the following year helped boost the Bengals to the top of the AFC North and into the Super Bowl.
He experienced nearly all of that just last year when a knee injury sidelined him for almost two months after a dominant first three weeks. Reader didn't always look 100% after his return late in the year, and he still performed like one of the best in a Bengals uniform.
When Reader signed on the dotted line, the Bengals hardly had any of the right pieces. Their desperation for players like Reader is precisely why they pursued him as hard as they did. Drafting and developing foundational pieces had got them nowhere at the time. They got a whole lot more when they did the alternative to land Reader.
And they didn't just stop there. Vonn Bell, Trey Hendrickson, Chidobe Awuzie, Mike Hilton, Alex Cappa, Ted Karras, and many more have done more than just re-establish the talent base in Cincinnati. Free agency forays have elevated the roster to heights of which the team has never seen before.
It's why Reader's signing will always be looked at with pride. He was one of the very first building blocks to what's become a true contending organization. Once they realized he was a risk worth taking, they sailed back out into the deep end for more like him. They identified exactly what to look for, with him as the original blueprint.
That he's finally surrounded by the competence he was brought in to provide is exactly how it should be.
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Featured image via © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
