Minnesota Vikings Release Veteran Left Tackle Riley Reiff
The Vikings continue to make changes in preparation for the upcoming NFL season.
The Vikings decided to release veteran left tackle Riley Reiff yesterday freeing up $11.75 million on the team's salary cap. Currently, the NFL has the salary cap for each team set at $182.5 million, with this move and the release of tight end Kyle Rudolph and kicker Dan Bailey the Vikings are now $18 million below the cap.
The move gives the Vikings some money to make some much-needed moves next week when NFL free agency begins, they team has plenty of holes to fill, so this move makes sense for the team.
The 32-year-old Reiff played all 4 years and 78 games with the Vikings as left tackle and had one year left on his current contract before the team terminated it yesterday. Reiff actually took a $5 million pay cut for the team last season to give them the money to sign Yannick Ngakoue in a trade with Jacksonville, he lasted six games before being traded to the Ravens.
Reiff played college football at Iowa and entered the NFL in 2012 with the Detroit Lions, he played for the Lions before joining the Vikings as a free agent before the 2017 season. He had a great season in 2020, so it's sad to see him go, but it was a necessary move. Brian O’Neill will more than likely move from the right tackle to the left.