The Giants have signed D.J. Reader to a two-year, $12.5 million contract as they continue to replace star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who was traded to the Bengals. The team's new coach aims to improve their struggling run defense.
The Giantsā mission to replace star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence continues.
Will it actually work? That remains unclear.
But on Tuesday, they added D.J. Reader, as expected. They gave him a two-year, $12.5 million contract, according to NFL Network.
New Giants coach/football czar John Harbaugh badly wants to fix this teamās putrid run defense. But the Giants just traded Lawrence to the Bengals for the 10th overall draft pick, which they used on right guard Francis Mauigoa, who quite obviously does not play defense.
The Giants team total wins line for the 2026/27 campaign is set at 7.5 total games on DraftKings. Our comprehensive DraftKings Sportsbook review will show you how to navigate their app.
Readerās signing is another move in Harbaughās by-committee approach, as he replaces Lawrence, who badly wanted out of East Rutherford after he endured so much misery and losing.
Before the Lawrence trade, Harbaugh this offseason added Sam Roberts (two career starts), who joined joined incumbents Roy Robertson-Harris (79 starts) and Darius Alexander (two starts) on the defensive line.
After the blockbuster deal, Harbaugh signed Leki Fotu (26 starts) and (89 starts). Now, he has added Reader ā who, unlike Fotu and Harris, was a starter last season.
The Giants signed D.J. Reader to a two-year, $12.5 million contract.
Dexter Lawrence was traded to the Bengals for the 10th overall draft pick, which the Giants used to select right guard Francis Mauigoa.
D.J. Reader's contract with the Giants is worth $12.5 million over two years.
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In the draft, Harbaugh picked just one defensive lineman ā Bobby Jamison-Travis in Round 6.
So Harbaugh will lean heavily this season on Reader, who turns 32 in July and has 128 career starts, including 17 and 15 the past two years in Detroit. Reader has been a starter for his entire 10-year career.
Can he still play at a high level?
That question lingers. The past two seasons, he had Pro Football Focus run defense grades of 61.7 and 62.6. That marked a steep decline from his 75.3 grade in 2023 with the Bengals. As a pass rusher, he graded 79.1, 64.5 and 72.6 from 2023-25, with 34, 22 and 20 pressures.
Harbaugh no doubt feels encouraged that Reader was durable enough to start every game last year. Still, thereās a reason he remained unsigned this deep into the offseason.
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