Vikings Called Landing Spot for Big Rival Defender
On offense, Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell will get to work with new quarterback Kyler Murray, while almost every other player not named Jalen Nailor is set to return. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores, meanwhile, had to shuffle his roster a little.
Defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen were released, leaving a 600-pound hole in the middle of the defensive line. Perhaps a free agent could fill that void. Lions defender D.J. Reader remains unsigned ahead of his age-32 season and is still waiting for the right opportunity.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks Minnesota is one of his two best landing spots next to the Dallas Cowboys.
Knox explained, “The Minnesota Vikings should also take a long look at their former division rival. Minnesota released defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in cap-saving moves earlier this offseason.”
Neither veteran played up to the lucrative contract in 2025, but they have already found new employers. The Vikings appear ready to promote Jalen Redmond to the top guy in the defensive line room after his explosive breakout season with 6 sacks and excellent play against the run. Rotational defender Levi Drake Rodriguez and sophomores Elijah Williams and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins are currently the next defenders in line.
Reader is no longer the star defender he once was, but he was still solid with the Lions, especially in the ground game.
Knox wrote, “D.J. Reader will turn 32 this summer and isn’t the sort of attacking interior pass-rusher that many teams want at defensive tackle. However, he remains a high-end starter, a legitimate force against the run, and a very durable defender. Despite playing through a back injury this past season, Reader started all 17 games for the Lions and recorded 28 tackles. He has appeared in at least 14 games in each of the past three seasons.”
Reader, a 2016 5th-rounder, spent the first four years of his career with the Houston Texans, then had a four-year stint with the Cincinnati Bengals and was signed by the Detroit Lions in the 2024 offseason.
His NFL resume shows 137 games, 12.5 sacks, and 328 tackles. He’s not a stat-sheet stuffer, which is why he has been an underrated defender for most of his career, but he is an interior disruptor who makes life easier for his teammates.
Impressive is his history of PFF grades.
- 2016: 70.1 (35th/125 eligible DTs)
- 2017: 79.2 (26th/124)
- 2018: 76.1 (28th/112)
- 2019: 85.4 (8th/116)
- 2020: 69.6 (42nd/124)
- 2021: 79.5 (9th/108)
- 2022: 85.2 (6th/127)
- 2023: 82.2 (11th/130)
- 2024: 66.5 (36th/118)
- 2025: 68.9 (32nd/127)
He will turn 32 later this year and has shown some signs of slowing down, but is still a solid interior defender. PFF projects his contract to cost only $4.5 million for one season.
They wrote in his free agency profile: “Reader is now 31 years old and has not quite matched his peak form from his time in Cincinnati since arriving in Detroit, but he remains an above-average starter at the NFL level. His 68.4 PFF grade ranked 36th among interior defensive linemen this season, and he has never recorded a PFF pass-rush or run-defense grade below 60.0 in any season of his career.”
The Vikings don’t have a ton of cap space, but they could fit him under their salary limit. Minnesota’s run defense was better than people think last year, but adding a run-specialist like Reader could still give the unit a boost.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.