One Lions Starter Could be a Trade Candidate After the NFL Draft

The defensive tackle position became very crowded for the Lions after they added Williams.

He joined a group that already included Alim McNeill, D.J. Reader, Levi Onwuzurike, Roy Lopez, and Brodric Martin.

The Lions just re-signed Onwuzurike and added Lopez this offseason.

McNeill isn't going anywhere after signing a four-year deal worth $97 million back in October.

Martin was a third-round pick just two years ago and costs the Lions very little to stay on the team.

That seems to leave Reader as the odd man out if the Lions decide they don't need six defensive tackles in their rotation.

Reader is somebody that was seen as a potential cut candidate for much of the offseason already.

He carries a hefty cap hit for the 2025 season. According to Spotrac, he'll cost the Lions $12.93 million against the cap if they keep him. However, that number comes down to $4.97 million in dead cap if they move on from him.

Those savings if they trade or even cut him could give the Lions the money they need to be able to finally add another edge option.

Reader also wasn't worth that kind of money for the Lions this past season. He played just 53% of snaps and wasn't anything special at defensive tackle.

According to Pro Football Focus, Reader's 20 pressures ranked just 55th at the position. His 13 stops ranked 82nd while his 11 solo tackles were good for just 113th.

He'll also be 31 years old before the start of the season, so we could see a decline from him in 2025.

Keeping him around at this point doesn't seem to have enough upside to be worth cutting into Williams' snaps as a rookie after the team just spent a first rounder on him.

McNeill likely missing the start of the season complicates things a bit, but the Lions should be fine with a platoon of Onwuzurike, Williams, Lopez, and Martin until he returns.

Defensive tackle has become a more valued position in the NFL over recent years, which could lead the Lions to get an offer of some kind for him from a team in need of some reinforcements in the middle of their defensive line.

The depth chart is just too crowded for the team to keep everybody at defensive tackle and it would make sense for the Lions to see if they can drum up any interest in Reader from around the league.