The Cincinnati Bengals have a very real need at defensive tackle. Sound familiar? Yeah, it's been that way for a minute.
Same goes for the safety position. Jessie Bates was a critical member of the Bengals' Super Bowl LVI runner-up team, and a key leader the next season, when they advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
Bates won't be coming back to replace Geno Stone in 2026 since he's still under contract in Atlanta. However, another key Bengal from that epic two-year run could be coming back if fans' vocal support is heard by the organization.
Bengals X/Twitter implores team to sign Lions pending free agent D.J. Reader for second Cincy stint
D.J. Reader was a straight-up hero in the trenches for the Bengals. Duke Tobin has done his darnedest to replace him in the ensuing years, drafting the likes of Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson on Day 2 in 2024. Neither have made much of a dent relative to the impact Reader had.
This has football-savvy Bengals folks on social media urging the front office to consider linking back up with Reader to shore up a defense in dire need of a run stopper in the middle of the d-line.
Looking for more leaders on defense? DJ Reader come on down
— Lindsay Patterson (@LndsPatterson) January 9, 2026
I'd shave my beard to get DJ Reader back in Cincy. https://t.co/fEYcFWXHF4
— 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 (@BengalsCaptain) January 11, 2026
DJ Reader had the highest combined pass rush win rate of any qualified DT on the Bengals or Lions in 2025 and is still a plus run defender.
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) January 11, 2026
He can still play at a high level.
Bengals plan -> move on from Slaton, bring back Reader, and draft iDL1. https://t.co/nKx3cpvioR
Love me some Gridiron Grading. Can't recommend them enough if you're a Who Dey Head. Like me, they're so much better at this drafting thing than Duke Tobin is, not to mention, the strategy here to pivot off of 2025 free-agent addition T.J. Slaton isn't a terrible idea.
Not that Slaton is terrible, as my guy Glenn Adams just laid out in his latest piece, but D.J. Reader is simply a different breed. He also has a history with Cincinnati that, all due respect to Slaton, can't be emulated by anyone else.
Reader played all 17 games for the Lions in 2025. They didn't have a great defense, but that was more due to a bad cornerback corps than anything else. Cincinnati's defensive backs are strong, led by Pro Bowl and All-Pro snub DJ Turner, Dax Hill, and hopeful holdover nickelback Jalen Davis.
That kind of support on the back end would do wonders for Reader's production if he were to return to the Queen City. Even in Detroit, Reader's PFF grade of 68.4 this season was 35th among defensive tackles, just one slot behind the Bengals' B.J. Hill.
Imagine if Joe Burrow could hit the recruiting trail, convince Reader to reunite, and somehow lure the ageless wonder Calais Campbell into a situational role in Cincinnati's rotation.
A Reader-Campbell-Hill power trio would be such a fun all-in move for 2026. I don't expect it to happen, but at the very least, Reader would fit right back in with the Bengals if he so desired.