Detroit Lions' D.J. Reader offers injury update after first week of camp

When the Detroit Lions signed defensive lineman D.J. Reader in free agency, they knew full well he had a long recovery process ahead of him after tearing his left quadriceps during the 2023 campaign.

Part of the reason they took on the situation was because Reader is one of the better interior defenders in the NFL when he's on the field. The problem is that Reader has had issues staying healthy in recent years.

With the first week of training camp in the books, Reader provided an update on his recovery. He says things are going well overall, but he would not commit to being ready for Week 1.

“I don’t know about that,” Reader told Kyle Meinke of MLive.com in regard to being ready for Week 1. “Just working hard. We’ll see.”

“I feel great,” Reader added. “Out there just working, feeling good. Just trying to get some strength back. Feeling good. It’s the process with rehab nowadays. Been through it before. You’ve got your days where you feel great, and some days it’s not as good. But it’s been good. Been on the up and up, and haven’t had any setbacks.”

Now that he's been with the Lions for four months, Reader says he's enjoying his time in Detroit, which he says is nicer than he expected.

“It’s a lot nicer (in Detroit) than what I expected,” Reader admitted. “It’s nicer than what people say online, things like that. It’s a really nice city. I like the water, the weather’s been great so far. I’ve been through some rough camps in Houston, so it’s been amazing. It’s dope. And then just the energy around the team, the city, that’s really awesome to have. You definitely feel it. You feel a sense of pride. You see Lions stuff everywhere. It’s not like that for everybody (around the league). So, it’s cool to see that sense of pride.”

As expected, Reader was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list to start training camp, but he has been working off to the side at practice and was spotted "running, jumping, and working technique" on Friday.

While Reader's comment about his status for Week 1 is less than ideal, it could very well be a case of the veteran lineman managing expectations.