Report: Bengals say Lou Anarumo has made Terrified statement today disappointing……
CINCINNATI — The Bengals defense certainly misses DJ Reader. The veteran defensive tackle suffered a torn quad tendon in Cincinnati’s Week 15 win over Minnesota.
Reader is in the final year of a four-year, $53 million contract he signed with the Bengals prior to the 2020 season.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is hoping the team can re-sign him.
“I’d love to have DJ back, love everything about him,” Anarumo said. “He’s such a big influence in the locker room. He’s such a big influence on our defense and has done so many great things for the city, the community and our team would really like to get him back if we can.”
Will the Bengals re-sign Reader? That’s one of the many offseason questions that need to be answered over the next few months.
Reader has 123 tackles, 20 quarterback hits and three sacks in 44 regular season games with the Bengals.
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Staten Island native and current Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo didn’t get to where he is by being a nice guy — even though he really is!
Sometimes, you have to throw your Staten Island attitude around to get players’ attention and be successful.
No doubt, Anarumo, who grew up in Castleton Corners and attended Susan Wagner High School and Wagner College, has done just that in five seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, helping the team reach the Super Bowl two seasons ago and then earn a spot in the AFC championship game last season only to lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs
In a story published in The Athletic on Thursday (Dec. 28, 2023), it details Anarumo’s impact on the team since his arrival and how his Staten Island attitude has helped the team grow.
One of the lows was the Bengals’ 23-20 loss to the Chiefs in the AFC title game last year. On the beach at the Jersey Shore last July, Anarumo, 57, was still thinking about the game, according to The Athletic.
“You know how when you’re on the beach, you can get into your thoughts?” Anarumo told the Athletic. “That’s what happened and I just let it out. And they all looked at me like, ‘Are you. OK?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I was just thinking about the championship game.”
Anarumo felt responsible for the loss and six months later he was still cursing about it, which his players say, “That’s the Italian coming out in him,” according to The Athletic.
Anarumo came to the Bengals following a short coaching stint with the New York Giants — the team he rooted for while growing up — and stints with the Miami Dolphins and several college programs
