Skip to main content
Inside The Vikings

Former Vikings Tackle Riley Reiff Signs One-Year Deal With Cincinnati Bengals

Reiff will play right tackle for the Bengals and will be a big part of Joe Burrow's protection up front.
Former Vikings Tackle Riley Reiff Signs One-Year Deal With Cincinnati Bengals
Former Vikings Tackle Riley Reiff Signs One-Year Deal With Cincinnati Bengals

Former Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday. The 32-year-old veteran gets $5.5 million guaranteed on a contract that could be worth up to $7.5 million in 2021.

After spending the last four seasons as Minnesota's left tackle, Reiff will move to the right side for the Bengals. He's a key free agent pickup for Cincinnati as it looks to piece together a strong offensive line in front of second-year quarterback Joe Burrow, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick who is coming off a torn ACL.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Reiff was released by the Vikings earlier this month for salary cap reasons.

A first-round pick by the Lions out of Iowa in 2012, Reiff spent five seasons in Detroit before signing with the Vikings. He played right tackle for the Lions in 2016, so he has some experience there. He has made 127 regular season starts in his nine-year career.

Reiff had one of the best seasons of his career in 2020. In 567 pass-blocking snaps, he allowed career-lows in sacks (1) and pressures (21) while committing just one penalty all year. He was a very reliable presence at left tackle and a valuable leader in the locker room.

However, the Vikings saved over $11 million in cap space by releasing Reiff — money that went towards their additions of key defensive free agents Dalvin Tomlinson and Patrick Peterson.

The Vikings have several options to replace Reiff at left tackle in 2020, including Ezra Cleveland, Brian O'Neill, and Rashod Hill. But they have a lot of work left to be done in adding to their offensive line.

Per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press, Minnesota is one of the teams being considered by free agent guard Forrest Lamp, who started 16 games for the Chargers last year and was a second-round pick in 2017.

Reiff becomes the fourth former Viking to sign with a new team in free agency, joining Mike Boone (Broncos), Ifeadi Odenigbo (Giants), and Kyle Rudolph (Giants).

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there. 

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations


Published
Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

Share on XFollow WillRagatz