Riley Reiff‘s Vikings tenure may be capped at three years. The team, which just took on a hefty salary with Yannick Ngakoue‘s reduced franchise tag, is eyeing a pay cut for its veteran left tackle.
Set to make $10.9MM in base salary this season, Reiff does not appear to foresee a solution coming. He has told teammates he expects to be released, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports (on Twitter). Should the Vikings release Reiff, they would gain $8.8MM in cap space. Following their Ngakoue acquisition, the Vikings hold an NFL-low $1.2MM in cap space.
Reiff is not expected to be at practice Monday, according to ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin, who adds that the team has given him a Tuesday deadline to determine if he’ll accept a pay reduction or be cut (Twitter link). The sides failing to compromise would send Reiff back to free agency. He signed with the Vikings in 2017 and has made 43 regular-season starts at left tackle.
Reiff, 31, was a rumored cap casualty earlier this year, but the Vikes kept him around. They then drafted Ezra Cleveland in the second round. Cleveland was seeing time at guard earlier in camp. However, the Boise State product can be viewed as Reiff’s eventual successor. The team, however, does not view Cleveland as ready to play just yet, Florio notes, adding that the more likely post-Reiff O-line configuration would be right tackle Brian O’Neill moving to the left side and Rashod Hill on the right edge.
Philly?
YES!!! Give them a sixth or seventh rounder to make sure he doesn’t hit the WW.
Seahawks!!
This makes sense for Minnesota. Reiff got a huge deal and, while not a complete lost cause, has not lived up to expectations with the Vikes. The fact that he has been rumored to be moving positions or be cut makes him an easy cap casualty in my eyes, especially given the money that Minnesota would save. $10.9 million is a lot to pay for an average left tackle-turned guard.
Reiff would still likely find work. The division rival Bears were interested in Warford before backing out. The Eagles have an opening at either guard or tackle, depending on what they decide to do with Peters. The Giants are always short on line play. Reiff is not a top of the market player, but he has enough experience to help a needy team or be a decent depth option.
I’m not sure Reiff’s salary is out of line. He’s much better than Ereck Flowers who is getting about $10M as a terrible left tackle – turned guard.
Yeah, Reiff is a capable blocker against most opponents, but struggles against elite competition. He was overwhelmed by Nick Boss in the divisional round last season and simply isn’t the future on the blindside.
The only issue is the dearth if quality linemen on Minnesota’s roster. O’Neill looked great on the opposite end, but will that translate to left tackle? Is Cleveland ready to start? Who’s playing on the interior. On the other hand, the financial return is too lucrative not to make the move.
As for Reiff, the Bears would definitely want a replacement for Ifedi/Cowart on the inside. The same could be said for Carolina at either interior spot. The Eagles could either push Peters to the outside and have Reiff play on the inside, or simply have him take over on the blindside to avoid Peters’ holdout threat. The finances would work too, as the Eagles aren’t facing any pressing fiscal concerns until 2021, but they could sign Reiff to a one-year pact before getting Dillard back next season. Idk about th Giants. Their real trouble is at center, and I doubt Reiff has any experience there.
Also, just because Flowers got paid doesn’t mean Reiff is worth quite that much. The Flowers contract was a clear overpay and should be the exception, not the norm
Agreed. Flowers was able to parlay a strong showing as a guard after failing miserably as a tackle, but that’s a lot of money to commit to an interior lineman. Sometimes you get a Marshall Yanda or Zack Martin, but usually it ends up that the amount of production is below the price tag. Or get a Kelechi Osemele who falls short of the elite expectation that garnered the huge contract. Of course, Reiff signed as a tackle, and a left tackle at that. He was getting moved due to his falling short of expectations, while not being outright terrible. A guard playing on a contract signed as a tackle will be making significantly more than what he would have signed to play as a guard originally.
Niners should be all over him
Wish they would have cut him sooner when they could have picked up a cheaper stopgap to make sure Ezra Cleveland is ready. O’Neill looks good enough to play the left side but I’m not a Hill fan at all.
RIley won’t get the $10 plus Million , much less 6/7 in my eyes…..Can they agree on $5??????
Jets