Vikings Release LT Riley Reiff, Clearing Up $11.75 Million in Salary Cap Space

Ezra Cleveland could be moved back to left tackle, or the Vikings could draft a new LT in April.

The Vikings have released left tackle Riley Reiff, the team announced on Wednesday. The move clears up $11.75 million in cap space, getting the Vikings solidly under the $182.5 million salary cap before the start of the new league year in a week. However, it also means the Vikings now have two holes to fill on their offensive line.

The #Vikings have released T Riley Reiff.

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 10, 2021

Reiff's representation and the Vikings reportedly entered negotiations on an extension, but he opted to hit the open market ahead of free agency. With top offensive tackles like Cam Robinson and Taylor Moton being franchise tagged, there should be plenty of league-wide interest in Reiff's services.

If Reiff was still on the Vikings' roster on March 19th, he would've received a $5 million roster bonus. A decision on his future was always going to happen before that date. Reiff's camp didn't want a repeat of last season, where the Vikings approached the veteran tackle in August and told him he could either take a pay cut or be released. Reiff ended up reluctantly taking the pay cut, which allowed the Vikings to fit Yannick Ngakoue under the cap. That saga may have soured the relationship between player and team a bit.

Reiff had one of the best seasons of his career in 2020. He played in 15 games — only missing the meaningless season finale while on the COVID-19 list — allowing 21 pressures and one sack, and committed one penalty. He was a solid, reliable presence on an offensive line that struggled mightily on the interior.

But with the Vikings dealing with a difficult salary cap situation, Reiff was one of the most obvious avenues to create space. He was set to have a cap hit of nearly $15 million, which was one of the highest on the team. Minnesota clears over $11 million in space with this move, although there is $3.2 million in dead money that comes with his release.

At the moment, the Vikings have three clear starters on their offensive line: Brian O'Neill, Ezra Cleveland, and Garrett Bradbury — all of whom are on rookie contracts. If all three players remained at their 2020 positions, the Vikings would need to find a new left tackle and a new left guard. But Cleveland was a left tackle in college and was ostensibly drafted in the second round last year to play that position. If the Vikings move him back to LT, they'd need two new guards. O'Neill could also be moved over to the left side, but that seems less likely. He has thrived at right tackle, and with extension talks potentially coming up this offseason, the Vikings might not want him to move to LT and command more money.

Releasing Reiff is risky because he was one of the bright spots on a shaky offensive line. But doing so gives the Vikings the money to sign a lineman or two in free agency, and potentially opens up a move to left tackle for Cleveland in his second NFL season. The offseason is really heating up now.

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