The Detroit Lions are thinking about the offseason much sooner than they wanted to be. Fresh off an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2023, the team had a Super Bowl-or-bust mentality in 2024.

The Washington Commanders ended those dreams in the divisional round of the playoffs, however, and now the team will look for ways to get better for 2025 as the franchise continues to search for its first Super Bowl.

The team is in a good position entering free agency. Even with the best record in the NFC in 2024, the team is projected to have the ninth-most cap space in the league. As a result, the Lions won’t be FORCED to cut any veterans, but some could still find themselves on the outs this offseason.

Ben Rolfe of Pro Football Network recently identified potential cap casualties for each NFL team. For the Lions, Rolfe pointed out D.J. Reader as one who fits the bill. Regarding Reader being a cut candidate, Rolfe offered the following:

“If we are looking purely at production to cost, then DJ Reader is an option,” Rolfe said. “He played 15 games in 2024 but only had 23 tackles and three sacks. Those numbers are not terrible, but they are on the low side for a player being paid nearly $13 million a year. They have the luxury of carrying that contract or restructuring it to save some space if they want to as opposed to cutting him.”

Reader didn’t have a terrible season with the Lions, but he didn’t quite make the impact the Lions were hoping for. It is fair to assume, however, that Reader will perform better in 2025 now that he’ll be a full year removed from a serious injury.

But if the team feels the veteran underperformed his price tag, they may want him to restructure or else they’ll cut him loose. Doing so would incur a dead-cap hit of $4.9 million and a savings of $7.9 million.

The Lions cutting Reader seems unlikely, though, since Detroit has a big question mark for the start of the 2025 season in fellow defensive lineman Alim McNeill, who tore his ACL in December.

Before coming to Detroit, Reader played for both the Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals. The massive nose tackle’s best season came in 2019, when he racked up 52 tackles and 2.5 sacks. While never a huge sack producer, Reader has been one of the better run-stuffing defensive linemen in the league.