Report: Vikings ask Riley Reiff to restructure contract, open to cutting him if he declines
CINCINNATI — The Vikings have asked left tackle Riley Reiff to restructure his contract according to Chad Graff of The Athletic Minnesota.
The 31-year-old is entering his ninth NFL season. The Lions took Reiff in the first-round (23rd overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.
He spent the first five years of his career with Detroit, before signing a five-year, $58.75 million deal with the Vikings in 2017.
He's played in Minnesota for three seasons. The team is open to cutting him if he's not willing to re-negotiate his contract according to the report.
Reiff has made 112 career starts. He's played in at least 13 games in each of his eight NFL seasons. He's been an average starting tackle since signing with Minnesota, which is why they're hoping to re-work his contract.
Reiff has a $13.2 million cap hit this season. That number jumps to $13.9 million in 2021.
No, the Bengals shouldn't trade for Reiff. Those cap numbers are astronomical compared to his actual production.
Reiff ranked 37th out of 82 qualified offensive tackles in the NFL last season according to Pro Football Focus.
He's a solid player, but isn't worth the money that the Vikings are paying him. Minnesota selected left tackle Ezra Cleveland in the second-round of April's NFL Draft. They also traded for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue over the weekend, who comes with a similar $13 million price tag.
Reiff has told teammates that he expects to get cut according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
The Vikings would save over $8 million if they move on from Reiff. If he hits free agency, then the Bengals should absolutely be interested.
Cincinnati has nearly $18 million in cap space. Adding a veteran like Reiff would be no problem from a money standpoint. It wouldn't get in the way of a potential extension for Joe Mixon either.
The Bengals coaching staff has watched Bobby Hart, Fred Johnson and others play right tackle. Reiff should be an upgrade from those guys. He's better than Hart and it doesn't look like they feel Johnson is ready to be a full-time starter.
Reiff has been a left tackle for most of his career, he did play on the right side at times with the Lions.
There's no guarantee he gets released, but if he does, the Bengals should at least kick the tires on the Iowa alum.
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