DJ Reader and the Cincinnati Bengals being unable to work out a deal before he signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency understandably turned lots of heads.

And soon after the events unfolded, Reader’s comments about leaving the Bengals made some noise.

Now there’s a little more in this area in the wake of Reader appearing on the Up & Adams show with Kay Adams.

“I was there doing rehab, doing my thing,” Reader said. “The talks just never happened. And they didn’t happen until free agency happened. And by that time I’m like, ‘I should probably go see what else there is to offer’ since it didn’t seem like…there was a focus on me being there. That might not have been the case, might have had some other things to figure out, but that’s just how I felt.”

Reader has already said he was surprised about how things turned out. And it’s certainly interesting to hear that the team wasn’t in contact before the market opened, so it’s hard to blame player and rep for looking at all options.

Another report has said the Bengals were absolutely interested in bringing Reader back, though it didn’t specify the timing of events. Injury risk or not, the Detroit Lions took advantage of Reader’s availability and the Bengals will need to pivot in the future.