Reader has no doubts he can get back to the level he was before because he had one of his best seasons in 2021 after recovering from his first quad injury. However, he couldn’t say that was the way he was thinking initially.
“At the beginning, I guess you have those initial thoughts (you might be done) because it’s tough to come back from,” Reader said. “Learning how to rehab all the time and always spending your time doing that process is tough. It can get mentally taxing, but I think, in my head, just I feel like I’ve got a lot of good ball left in me. I mean, I feel like this was one of my better years, and I don’t really want to end it that way. I’ve got a lot left in me, so just rehab it and get back.”
Reader was encouraged by the surgery and has found the injury to be less severe than the one he experienced in 2020 with his left leg. As he described it, the tendon “laid down a little bit more, kind of staged, didn’t retract as much,” and this time coming out of surgery, he could already contract the muscle, which wasn’t the case last time.
Three weeks out from the procedure, Reader said “it feels a lot better in the early stages.” Last time he said it took six months for him to return but was running in about four months and felt “amazing” at about nine months after surgery.
“Don’t worry about me,” Reader said. “I’ll be just fine. It’s not something I would worry about, whether DJ’s going to come back. I’ll be better than ever, be back doing what I do.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Reader said his main frustration with the injury, aside from knowing how difficult the rehab would be, was the timing of it happening right in the midst of the team’s push for the playoffs and as he was proving himself worthy of a contract extension or new deal elsewhere.
The Bengals have not been known to shell out money for players going into their third contracts, and Reader will be 30 next season.
“I was pissed,” Reader said of his emotions at the time of the injury. “Three games away from like, you know, putting yourself at the table in where you want to be as a player. As a team, I felt like I could have helped in a lot of situations, maybe help us go on a playoff run, so those immediate emotions come over you, and you know how hard the fight is back too, especially this injury. No shade to a lot of other injuries. It’s just a tough injury. So, you just know how hard the fight is back up that mountain, and you know, eventually you settle down, prepare yourself for it. And it’s the work that’s got to be done.”
Reader said he is able to get through these tough times thanks to his “village” and faith. He also watched his whole life as his dad dealt with rheumatoid arthritis and needed pushed in a wheelchair to Reader’s football and basketball games.
Seeing how his dad suffered made him a little more uniquely prepared for adversity in his own life.
Now, Reader is just hoping the stigmatism of being “injury-ridden” doesn’t follow him around. He has played 10 games or more every season except 2020 when he tore his quad in Week 5. He missed six games in 2022 because of a knee injury, and otherwise played 14 games every other year.
“That sucks because you know who you are as a person and you know how those things affect everybody else, but now you’re gonna have people questioning your work ethic to get back or if you’re gonna do this or if you’re gonna do that, or is this gonna slow him down at this age blase, blasé,” Reader said. “And those questions are natural, and they’re valid. This is the hard part. This is the tough part where you have to go in and not really prove people wrong, but really just put the work in and let the work show over time that you are willing to put it in and be exactly where you want to be.”
Reader would like to continue with the Bengals, and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo made clear that would be his hope as well. Reader knows his future is uncertain and he can’t control the business side of things for Cincinnati, but he is at peace knowing he will end up in the right place for him.
If his time with the Bengals is coming to a close, he feels good about what he accomplished. Reader played a big part in improving the run defense in 2021 and 2022.
“When you come to something and you feel like you’ve made it better while you’ve been here,” Reader said. “That’s a huge part of my progression as a person, always want to leave something better than what I found it. So, I always want to be here. I love the guys love the locker room. You know, obviously, it’s been a great four years for me. And just being able to lead the guys and be around them, it’s awesome to see them grow and see them move around. It’s been a true blessing. I think this has really helped my career a lot.”
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