The Cincinnati Bengals were widely hailed as winners for getting aggressive in free agency and landing star Houston Texans defensive lineman D.J. Reader in free agency.
That Reader deal reportedly went final this week — and Texans coach Bill O’Brien isn’t too happy about it.
O’Brien offered the following, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle: ‘”There are certain guys that we just couldn’t do it financially. We would have loved to keep D.J. Reader. We had good conversations with him and his representatives. We couldn’t get that one done.”
Financially, meaning the $53 million the Bengals will pay Reader over four seasons, with more than $22 million coming in Year 1.
Reader, going on 26 in July, is considering one of the more explosive defensive linemen in the NFL, even if he didn’t get the headlines on a defense often featuring J.J. Watt and other big names.
Now a centerpiece for the Bengals, Reader is another good example of how a team losing a player speaks on said player is a sign of the quality — Cincinnati has a big win on its hands.
Just ask O’Brien.
