The Detroit Lions are agreed to a three-year, $48 million contract with free agent cornerback D.J. Reed, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, as they move quickly to replace starting cornerback Carlton Davis III.
Davis and the New England Patriots earlier agreed to a three-year $60 million contract that includes $34.5 million fully guaranteed, sources told Schefter.
This was Reed’s second foray into free agency. In 2022, he signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the New York Jets. It seemed like a big contract for a player who had started only one full season (Seattle Seahawks, 2021), but he quickly established himself as one of the Jets’ better defensive players.
Playing the entire time as the No. 2 corner, alongside star Sauce Gardner, Reed proved to be a reliable defender in both zone and man-to-man schemes. He played bigger than his size (5-foot-9), recording 32 passes defended from 2022 to 2024.
The Jets rarely assigned their corners to cover specific receivers, so Reed (used almost exclusively on the right side) often found himself on the opponent’s No. 1 receiver. He held up reasonably well last season, allowing only an 80.4 passer rating — 19th out of 77 corners (minimum: 250 coverage snaps), per Next Gen Stats.
Reed, however, has only recorded six interceptions in seven seasons and has 21 accepted penalties over the last three years. That includes 185 yards on pass-interference penalties, the sixth-highest total in the league. In 2024, he led the team with eight pass-interference penalties.
Reed broke into the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2018. The Seahawks picked him up on waivers in 2020, and it was there — under former coach Pete Carroll — that Reed began to reinvent himself. He has played 101 games, including 70 starts.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini contributed to this report.
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