Detroit Lions defensive tackle DJ Reader is chasing an elusive goal that many National Football League player covet, a Super Bowl ring.

The former Bengals defensive lineman signed a two-year, $22 million free agent deal last offseason. In his first season in Motown, the veteran showcased he could come back again from a devastating leg injury suffered late in the 2023 season.

On separate occasions, Reader tore a quad muscle in his right and left leg and battled knee injuries.

“I’ve had a really, really good career. I’ve been blessed and fortunate to play for a long time, played good ball, played in a Super Bowl, had a good game, just hadn’t won it,” Reader recently expressed. “And so that’s really all that matters to me is really just winning one in whatever way and whatever part of the team I could be and whatever help I can do for this team to help win one. That’s my main focus.”

During the offseason, a segment of supporters and pundits were wondering if Reader was still part of the team’s plans.

Roy Lopez was signed in free agency and the team drafted Tyleik Williams to man the middle of the defensive line for several years.

The 30-year-old is entering training camp the healthiest he has been in several years and can still resume his role as one of the top nose tackles in the NFC.

Last season, Reader totaled 23 combined tackles, four tackles for loss and a career-best three sacks. In his nine-year NFL career, Reader has logged an even 300 tackles, 27 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks.

“I think there has been some slight disrespect thrown on DJ Reader’s name this offseason as a cap casualty,” said Lions reporter Ben Raven on the latest “Dungeon of Doom” podcast. “Are you kidding me? They paid for DJ Reader for a reason. This guy is a game-changing nose tackle.”

If the Detroit Pistons want to make some sort of splash in the trade market this offseason, the Boston Celtics could have an intriguing sale going on.

As the defending NBA Champions will certainly hand over the title next month after a second-round exit against the New York Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, there is a growing assumption that Boston could see some major changes beyond the core of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Fans of the Pistons have a taken a liking to the thought of the team trading for Derrick White. As the veteran guard has established himself as one of the best two-way guards in the game, starring in a non-star role for a championship-winning squad, it’s easy to assume he would be a difference-maker.

For Detroit—or any team, for that matter—a White acquisition could be a pipe dream.

“The Celtics’ precise determination to keep their various veterans is difficult to calculate so soon after the defending champions’ Round 2 exit to the Knicks in six games and the devastating loss of Jayson Tatum to an Achilles rupture,” NBA Insider Marc Stein recently wrote. “but the early projections in circulation suggest Boston is more apt to make Jrue Holiday available via trade this offseason than Derrick White.”

Whether it’s Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, or White, it seems the Celtics are set to part ways with at least one of their key players due to “luxury tax concerns.”

Porzingis wouldn’t be a logical target for Detroit, as the frontcourt is in good hands at the moment. Holiday or White could bring valuable leadership, defense, and ball-handling to the table.

Both Boston guards have multiple seasons left on their deals. Holiday’s is a little less valuable, considering his player option would kick in during his age 37 season, and would cost a little under $40 million. Next year, Holiday will cost $30 million.

White’s contract would expire when he’s 35. He’ll make $28 million next year, and his final player option would be for $34.8 million. Around the league, he’s considered to be on a valuable deal.

White would be a nice upgrade, but the Pistons aren’t desperate for it. Prior to Jaden Ivey’s season-ending injury last year, he was having a career year. In 30 games, he posted averages of 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists. At 22 years old, Ivey is looking like a key contributor to a winning team. Since Detroit is currently interested in playing a patient game with their roster-building, a trade with the Celtics seems unlikely at this time.

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