Detroit Lions take DT D.J. Reader off PUP list 2 weeks before season opener vs. Rams
D.J. Reader is off the physically unable to perform list. Now the Detroit Lions will see if they can get their biggest free agent addition of the offseason ready for Week 1.
The Lions announced Sunday that Reader passed his physical and was removed from the PUP list, two days before NFL teams have to trim their rosters to 53 players.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said last week he expected Reader to return to practice this week and take part in individual drills.
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Reader tore his right quadriceps tendon in a December game with the Cincinnati Bengals in December and has not practiced with the Lions this summer. He worked out with trainers on a side field during practice last week, and said at a back-to-school event for his A Son Never Forgets foundation that he was on a similar return-to-play timetable as when he tore his quad in 2020.
Reader played in Week 1 of the 2021 season, but he said he wasn't "able to get rolling until beginning, middle of camp" that summer.
Asked about the likelihood of playing in the Lions' Sept. 8 opener against the Los Angeles Rams, Reader said, "That's just one of those things. I'm just working every day to see where I'm at, and just kind of where your feet land is where you land. So I haven’t put on the pads like the other guys yet so I'm just kind of in that realm."
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Reader, 30, is considered one of the best run-stopping defensive tackles in the NFL and joins a Lions team that finished second in the NFL in rush defense last season at 88.8 yards per game.
Once healthy, he's expected to start on a line that also includes Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill and Marcus Davenport. He acknowledged last week it's more important to be around to help the Lions win in January and February than it is to be on the field in Week 1.
"That's the thing you really want to be around then, but you got to get to there then, too," he said. "You got to make sure you take care of what's in front of you so we just got to do some things to get working."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' D.J. Reader off PUP list 2 weeks before opener
