As the Detroit Lions look to shape their 53-man roster by Tuesday afternoon, they made a notable roster move on Sunday. Defensive tackle DJ Reader has been removed from the PUP list after passing a physical.
Reader missed all of training camp and the preseason as he worked his way back from the torn quad tendon he suffered playing for the Cincinnati Bengals last December. The Lions signed him in March knowing he had plenty of rehab/recovery left to do, but also plenty of time to do it.
If Reader had stayed on the PUP list to start the season, he'd have had to miss at least the first four games. Last week, amid other injury updates, head coach Dan Campbell suggested Reader could start doing individual drills in practice this coming week.
“I think we may start Reader up too, just start working him into individual (drills),” Campbell said.
Being able to practice would require being taken off the PUP list, of course. That foreshadowed step has now been made official.
DJ Reader's Week 1 status is still unclear
Last week, Reader revealed he had a setback in his rehab and had a scope on his right knee in June. That was the second time in the span of a month he casted some doubt on his status for Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, but he ultimately did reach his stated goal of not being on the PUP list into the season.
Even with his passing a physical and being taken off the PUP list, Reader's status for the season opener two weeks from Sunday is unclear. He'll definitely need some practice ramp up, if only for conditioning purposes. Ultimately, he may just be on a limited snap count for a game or two to start the season. The Lions usually really slow-play injury recoveries such as this, so a calculated plan to ramp Reader up feels likely.
Regardless of what Week 1 looks like for Reader, in uniform or not, playing a lot or not, it's great news that he's no longer on the PUP list as roster cuts loom.
