After acquiring George Pickens this past week, the Dallas Cowboys have shored up their glaring hole on the offensive side of the ball. But what about their defense?

The other position that went generally ignored this offseason was run-stuffing defensive tackle. The club didn’t sign anyone in free agency, and then waited until late on Day 3 to draft UCLA’s Jay Toia to help fill the run-stuffing role. With former first-round pick Mazi Smith a big question mark entering his third season, the team still could add a veteran presence with bona fide skins on the wall in being able to plug the middle.

Pro Football Focus’ Mason Cameron, writing about one last move for every NFC team, identified a potential cut candidate from the Detroit Lions who could fill the void, DJ Reader.

Former first-rounder Mazi Smith endured a particularly tough 2024 campaign. He posted an abysmal 34.7 PFF overall grade, marking his second consecutive season of earning a sub-48.0 grade. Although Dallas signed Solomon Thomas in free agency, that doesn’t profile as the answer to the Cowboys’ 30th-ranked run-defense grade (48.0).

Dallas hasn’t been afraid to leverage future draft capital this offseason and should consider monitoring another opportunity. The Lions’ D.J. Reader has been considered a cut candidate and could fit in nicely with the Cowboys, whether through a trade or a post-release signing. Reader boasts a 91st-percentile PFF run-defense grade over the past three seasons.

Reader, who signed a two-year, $22 million contract with the Lions entering 2024, has made over $67 million across his career. The majority of that came in his deal with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he played from 2020 through 2023. Originally drafted by the Houston Texans in 2016’s fifth round, the 6-foot-3, 335-pound interior defender has been a strong run defender for almost a decade.

But Reader could be a cap casualty as a result of the Lions’ 2025 offseason. The team signed Roy Lopez, formerly of the Arizona Cardinals, to a one-year, $4.7 million deal. Detroit was then able to land Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams in this year’s draft’s first round. The Lions love the interior of their defense, but having three nose tackles over 320 pounds feels like a bit of overkill.

Holding up the potential cut though is the fact Reader had a roster bonus clause that paid him $4 million on the third day of this league year. The club could however still save over $7 million in cash by releasing him. Detroit would eat $3.7 million of dead money on next year’s cap if released after June 1.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: PFF: Cowboys should target Lions’ DT DJ Reader if released