Another former Bengals star is being courted by the Ravens, and it’s a player fans wanted to bring back this offseason
The Baltimore Ravens are going after yet another former Bengals player on defense.
The Baltimore Ravens have added defensive end Trey Hendrickson and re-signed cornerback Chidobe Awuzie this month, giving them two key members from the Cincinnati Bengals’ defenses that went to back-to-back AFC Championship Games and nearly won a Super Bowl.
They appear to want another leader of those defenses in nose tackle DJ Reader. Reader had a free agent visit with the Ravens Thursday.
Reader, who played four years in Cincinnati from 2020-23, spent the last two seasons with the Detroit Lions. He was not expected to re-sign with Detroit this offseason, and remains on the free agent market over two weeks since the 2026 league year began.
Bengals fans were very much down with the idea of Reader coming back to the Bengals this offseason. The team already signed a 31-year old DT in Jonathan Allen to a two-year, $25 million contract this month, and with the 31-year old Reader still available, it’s fair to assume he won’t be commanding anywhere near that price.
A reunion wasn’t in either party’s plans, clearly, but the 11th-year veteran appears interested in rejoining other familiar faces.
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At the beginning of the month, Awuzie, Hendrickson, and Reader were all scheduled to hit free agency. They may all be Ravens by the time the month ends.
Awuzie, who spent 2025 in Baltimore was a simple re-signing following the start of the league year. He’s been off the Bengals for as long as Reader has been gone. It’s the fact that the Ravens managed to get Hendrickson after backing out of the Maxx Crosby trade and then going after a former defensive line teammate of his when they were both in their primes that makes this look obvious.
Baltimore wants some of that early 2020s defensive magic Cincinnati had going on.
It would be very odd for Bengals fans to see all three players join forces together on a rival team for at least the 2026 season. They all had successful tenures in Cincinnati, and outside of Hendrickson, their exits were well received by the fan base. It’s not impossible that Hendrickson and Awuzie have talked to Reader about coming to the Charm City as well, or the team itself has gotten feedback from them about Reader.
Baltimore is also very intent on improving its defense. The Ravens hired former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as their new head coach, and he will call plays for that side of the ball in his new gig. The club also signed free agent safety Jaylinn Hawkins to a two-year deal, bolstering the backend of the secondary as well.
Reader could very well be the next addition, and Baltimore would simply be embracing the players who beat them in the 2022-23 postseason.
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