SEPTEMBER 29: As expected, the team moved Reader to IR. The veteran defensive tackle will be out at least four weeks. It would not surprise if the timetable is pushed beyond that, but the defending AFC champions are expected to have Reader back this season. Reader suffered an MCL injury that will feature an estimated six-week recovery timetable, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

SEPTEMBER 27: Tests have revealed D.J. Reader will miss an extended amount of time, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway. While this is not believed to be a season-ending knee injury, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo adds Reader is likely to be shut down for at least a month (Twitter link).

It would seem Reader will be IR-bound. This certainly stings for a Bengals team that had Reader and Larry Ogunjobi during its AFC North title run last season. Ogunjobi is now with the Steelers, leaving B.J. Hill — who re-signed with the Bengals this offseason — as the team’s top defensive tackle.

Although it is a bit early for gleaning too much from advanced metrics, Pro Football Focus has Reader ranked as the NFL’s top interior D-linemen through three games. Reader, 28, left the Bengals’ third contest after early, playing just 18 defensive snaps. But he has been one of the team’s top players since coming over from the Texans two years ago.

As the team began to be active in free agency to supplement Joe Burrow‘s rookie contract, the Bengals gave Reader a four-year, $53MM deal in 2020. The former Texans Day 3 pick has continued his strong play with the Bengals, who have benefited from his top-level run defense. Cincinnati ranked fifth against the run last season; the defending AFC champions are eighth through three games.

Longtime Bengal Josh Tupou, third-round rookie Zach Carter and Jay Tufele round out the team’s D-tackle group. Tupou, who has been with the team since 2017, agreed to a two-year, $3MM deal to stay in Cincinnati this offseason. The Bengals added Tufele, a 2021 fourth-rounder, via waiver claim from the Jaguars just after cutdown day.

The Bengals have officially signed D.J. Reader, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The two sides agreed to a deal weeks ago, but the pandemic threw a wrench into their plans.

The deal, at long last, is done after Reader agreed to additional language that has been popping up more and more as of late. In essence, Reader’s deal is done, though he still must pass a physical in order for the deal to take effect. If he doesn’t pass, the Bengals will have the option of cutting him immediately or keeping the contract as-is. It adds an extra layer of protection for the Bengals, of course, but also ensures that Reader will not be left in a holding pattern.

As previously reported, Reader’s four-deal is set to pay him $53MM with a favorable cash flow. He’ll get $22.25MM in Year 1 and $31.75MM over the first two years of the contract. It’s a big commitment, but the Bengals believe that it’s a worthwhile one – Reader is fantastic against the run and he’ll be downright scary when lined up next to Geno Atkins on the interior line.

“I know we’re in a good spot with the mix of young and experienced players that know what they’re doing. You’ve got guys like Geno and Carlos Dunlap that have played a lot of ball,” Reader told the team website recently. “They’re great leaders and everybody in the back end. And we’ve got some new guys coming in now. It’s a revamped team, but a lot of their standard pieces are in place. It wasn’t like you needed that much to come. You’ve got young guys like (right end) Sam Hubbard, the receivers are good. Running back Joe Mixon is good; the offensive line is good and has a lot of guys that have been there. I knew the record didn’t reflect what the team had last year.”

The Broncos, Bills, and Titans were among the clubs looking at Reader last month. Ultimately, the Bengals came out on top to land one of the league’s best young 3-4 NTs.

The Bengals have reached agreement on a deal with Texans free agent defensive tackle D.J. Reader, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Reader is set to collect $53MM on his new four-year deal with Cincy.

The Broncos, Bills, and Titans were among the clubs connected to Reader in recent weeks. Just last night, we heard that Denver was in discussions with the Clemson product. The Texans, meanwhile, wanted to keep him, but the two sides were unable to come to terms on compensation. Reader was relatively unheralded coming out of college, slipping to the fifth-round in 2016. He’s certainly not unheralded anymore.

Reader was exceptional against the run last year. He’s also made strides as a pass rusher – he didn’t register a ton of sacks, but that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. He was often able to generate some pressure up the middle, and disrupt the pocket. Now, he’ll pair with Geno Atkins to form one of the most intimidating interior duos in the NFL. The Bengals will now have an imposing defensive front, but they still have some work to do at linebacker and in the secondary.

Cincinnati usually wasn’t a big spender in free agency during the Marvin Lewis era, but they’ve clearly changed their approach with new head coach Zac Taylor. They’ve particularly been going after guys on defense, as we heard they tried aggressively for linebackers Joe Schobert and Nick Kwatikoski before those two guys landed their huge deals.

The Bengals’ defense was atrocious last year, and obviously they’re willing to spend big to revamp it. They’re hoping Reader and an improved defense will make life easier for a rookie quarterback, presumably LSU’s Joe Burrow, in 2020.