The 2026 NFL league year and free agency officially began on March 11. Prior to that, the NFL’s legal tampering window opened on March 9, allowing teams to start negotiating with players’ agents before free agency officially started.
With the first wave of free agency over, Pro Football Focus (PFF) highlighted 10 veteran free agents who are “still flying under the radar and without a team.”
Among them is former Clemson standout and now 31-year-old defensive tackle DJ Reader.
“Though he’s now 31 years old and potentially past his peak, DJ Reader is still the top defensive tackle on the market. It would be a sound addition for any NFL team in need of solid run defense and an ancillary pass-rushing option on the interior of the defensive line. He spent the last two seasons with the Detroit Lions,” PFF’s Thomas Valentine wrote.
“Reader compiled a 68.9 PFF grade in 2025, 32nd among defensive tackles, and still generated 20 pressures and 15 stops. The former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle finished the season without a sack, but Reader’s 72.6 PFF pass rushing grade was the third-highest of his career. A potential return to the Bengals, who need some beefing up on the defensive line, isn’t out of the question, even on a one-year deal.”
After being drafted by the Houston Texans in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft, Reader spent the first four seasons of his NFL career (2016-19) in Houston before playing four years with the Bengals from 2020-23. He then signed a two-year deal with the Lions prior to the 2024 campaign before hitting the free agent market this offseason.
During his first year in Detroit in 2024, Reader started all 15 games he played in, tallying 23 total tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, eight quarterback hits and one pass defended. In 2025, he started all 17 games for the Lions, recording 28 total tackles and four quarterback hits.
Over his 10-year career with the Texans, Bengals and Lions, Reader has posted 328 total tackles, 27 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks to go with 56 quarterback hits, nine passes defended, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble across 137 games (128 starts).
Reader ranks No. 21 overall in PFF’s 2026 NFL free agency rankings.
“Reader is now 31 years old and has not quite matched his peak form from his time in Cincinnati since arriving in Detroit, but he remains an above-average starter at the NFL level,” PFF wrote. “His 68.4 PFF grade ranked 36th among interior defensive linemen this season, and he has never recorded a PFF pass-rush or run-defense grade below 60.0 in any season of his career.”