Lou Anarumo on DJ Reader's Season-Ending Injury: 'It's Heartbreaking'

Reader suffered the injury in the first quarter against the Vikings.

CINCINNATI — Bengals defensive tackle DJ Reader suffered a torn right quad tendon in Cincinnati's Week 15 win over the Vikings. 

The team put him on injured reserve and he'll miss the rest of the season. Bengals defensive coordinator described the injury as "heartbreaking." 

"There's nobody going to replace DJ [on the field]. That's just who DJ is, but we have full faith in the guys behind him that they can step up and do a good job," Anarumo said. "He's hanging in there. He's a great guy. He's a great man. It's hard, contract year. We're not oblivious to the things that come with all of this for our players. It's something that maybe everybody doesn't see, but we see it. He's a part of our family and it's heartbreaking when you look at the scope of all of it. And so we're definitely sensitive to it and hoping he has a full recovery, obviously."

Reader, 29, is in the final year of a four-year, $53 million contract he signed with the Bengals prior to the 2020 season. He had a real chance of signing another long-term contract this offseason, but this injury could get in the way of that happening. 

He tore his left quad tendon during the 2020 campaign and came back stronger than ever. Hopefully he can do the same thing with this injury. 

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