D. J. Reader
David Vernon "D. J." Reader Jr. (born July 1, 1994) is an American football defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson.
![]() Reader with the Texans in 2016 | |||||||||||
No. 98 – Cincinnati Bengals | |||||||||||
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Position: | Nose tackle | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. | July 1, 1994||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 335 lb (152 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Grimsley (NC) | ||||||||||
College: | Clemson | ||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2016 / Round: 5 / Pick: 166 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2023 | |||||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
College career
Reader played football and baseball at Clemson University. Reader was a pitcher for Tigers baseball in its 2013 season.[1]
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
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6 ft 2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m) |
327 lb (148 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 5.27 s | 1.87 s | 3.06 s | 4.71 s | 7.90 s | 29.5 in (0.75 m) | 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) | 30 reps | |
Sources:[2][3] |
Houston Texans
Reader was selected by the Houston Texans in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.[4] He started seven games in his rookie year logging one sack, seven solo tackles and 15 assisted tackles.[5]
In 2017, Reader replaced the retired Vince Wilfork as the Texans starting nose tackle. He started the first 14 games of the season before being placed on injured reserve on December 19, 2017.[6]
On September 9, 2018 during the 2018 season opener against the New England Patriots, Reader had the first multi sack game of his career with 2 on Tom Brady.
In week 3 of the 2019 season against the Los Angeles Chargers, Reader recorded 1.5 sacks on Philip Rivers in the 27-20 win.[7]
Cincinnati Bengals
On April 2, 2020, Reader signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.[8][9] He was placed on injured reserve on October 12, 2020 with a quad injury.[10]
2021
In Reader's second season with the Bengals, the team won three playoff games to reach Super Bowl LVI. Reader recorded a sack in a 23-20 loss[11] to the Los Angeles Rams.
2022
Reader suffered a knee injury in Week 3 of the 2022 season and was placed on injured reserve on September 29, 2022.[12] He was activated on November 19,[13] and played in each of the team's remaining seven regular season games, all victories. Cincinnati won the AFC North 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,[14] and another two tackles (one solo) in a 27-10 win over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round.[15]
Personal life
Reader's father died from kidney failure on June 30, 2014.[16]
Reader has one son, born in November 2019.
References
- "D.J. Reader, RH Pitcher". Clemson University. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
- "D.J. Reader Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
- "2016 Draft Scout D.J. Reader, Clemson NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
- "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
- Ganguli, Tania (April 30, 2016). "Texans select D.J. Reader in 5th round of 2016 NFL Draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- "TRANSACTIONS: Texans add three to active roster". HoustonTexans.com. December 19, 2017. Archived from the original on April 27, 2018.
- "Watson, Watt lead way as Texans outlast Chargers, 27-20". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- Williams, Charean (March 17, 2020). "Bengals agree to terms on four-year, $53 million deal with D.J. Reader". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- "Bengals Announce Agreements With Eight Unrestricted Free Agents". Bengals.com. April 8, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- "Bengals Sign DT Xavier Williams, Place D.J. Reader On Reserve/Injured". Bengals.com. October 12, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- "Super Bowl LVI Summary". nfl.com. February 13, 2022.
- "Bengals Roster Moves: Reader Placed on Reserve/Injured List". Bengals.com. September 29, 2022.
- "Bengals Roster Moves: DJ Reader Activated, Punter and Wide Receiver Elevated for Week 11". Bengals.com. November 19, 2022.
- "Wild Card Round Box Score". January 15, 2023.
- "Divisional Round Box Score". January 23, 2023.
- Ganguli, Tania (July 22, 2016). "D.J. Reader learns to overcome grief over his father's death to realize his NFL dream". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.