The New York Giants didn’t want to trade star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“I know this does hurt for them,” Breer said on “The Dan Patrick Show” on April 20.
The Giants bit the bullet and dealt him to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for the Bengals’ 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Giants later took former Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa with that pick on April 23.
New York’s drafting of Arvell Reese (No. 5 overall) and Mauigoa likely helped assuage the aftermath, but the Giants have moved to directly fill the Lawrence void in the days after the draft.
First, the Giants signed veteran defensive lineman Shelby Harris last week, and now, they’ve signed former Detroit Lions defensive tackle DJ Reader.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Tuesday that the Giants were “closing in” on a two-year contract with Reader. The deal is worth $12.5 million, but incentives raise the potential value to $15.5 million. The contract is pending a physical, per the Giants.
It goes without saying that signing Reader is not a one-to-one replacement for Lawrence, and ESPN’s Jordan Raanan offered statistics to back that up: “Reader led the NFL last year with a 71.7% double-team rate. He had 28 tackles, nine pressures, and four quarterback hits. His 26.0% run stop win rate was below league average and behind Lawrence (31.5%).”
Reader began his career as a fifth-round pick of the Houston Texans in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Clemson alum played four seasons in Houston before signing with the Bengals in 2020. He became a key part of the Bengals’ run to — and ultimate loss in — Super Bowl LVI, culminating the 2021 season. He missed a chunk of the start of the 2022 season with an MCL injury but starred down the stretch en route to the AFC Championship Game, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Reader departed Cincinnati for the Detroit Lions in 2024, where he started 32 regular-season games over the past two seasons.
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