LOS ANGELES — D.J. Reader spent his first 4 seasons with the Texans, and he had a option to make when he turned a free agent in 2020.
Many groups confirmed curiosity in Reader, however he picked the Bengals. Which may have appeared an odd selection because the Bengals had been one of many worst groups in soccer. Positive, the four-year, $53 million contract Cincinnati provided had rather a lot to do along with his determination. However so did the very fact the Bengals had the No. 1 choose and he knew who they have been going to get with it.
“Understanding they have been going to get Joe Burrow gave me confidence that I used to be going to play with a great quarterback,” Reader mentioned. “I had seen him play. I simply wanted to determine what sort of particular person he was and he’s superb. I made the appropriate selection.”
That selection appears to be like mighty smart now. Reader will line up at nostril deal with for the Bengals on Sunday in Tremendous Bowl LVI. He's the run-stopping power in the course of the Cincinnati protection.
Within the Bengals’ divisional win over the Titans, Cincinnati held star working again Derrick Henry to 62 yards on 20 carries.
“Run at who??!?!” Reader posted on Twitter.
“He was Superman,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor mentioned. “In the event you’re going to single out one man for his or her efficiency, D.J. Reader is actually deserving of that. He set the tone.”
The Bengals will want Reader to set the tone once more Sunday. The Rams don’t have Henry within the backfield, however Cam Akers and Sony Michel give them a stable 1-2 punch within the working recreation.
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Reader’s first season with the Bengals led to October 2020 when he suffered a season-ending quad harm. He bounced again this season to have a monster yr within the center for the Bengals.
“That is what you dream about as a child,” Reader mentioned. “You all the time inform your dad and mom and everyone round you that you just’re going to play within the Tremendous Bowl. You get within the league and also you understand how arduous that's, how arduous that dream truly is. It’s one thing you battle for on daily basis. Each staff goes into yearly wanting to do that.”
Earlier within the playoffs, Reader spoke about how everybody was “sleeping” on the Bengals they usually felt disrespected. He’s unsure how anybody can overlook them now.
“We’re within the Tremendous Bowl, so I hope individuals respect us,” Reader mentioned. “We don’t actually care about that. We’ve all the time obtained a chip on our shoulder. We wish to play. Guys are aggressive they usually wish to exit and play. That’s the sort of staff we’ve obtained.”
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