What’s next for Riley Reiff and the Vikings heading into free agency?
By Dean Jones
The Minnesota Vikings have plenty of salary cap problems, with offensive lineman Riley Reiff among the prime candidates for release.
Even though Riley Reiff performed at a relatively high level for the Minnesota Vikings in 2019, he could become one of the team’s salary-cap casualties in the coming weeks.
The former first-round pick out of Iowa made great strides last season after an indifferent start to his career in Minnesota. Reiff protected Kirk Cousins’ blindside well, which played a big part in the best season of the quarterback’s career.
Reiff still has a lot to offer the organization. But keeping him around on his current deal might not be a viable option for a franchise that currently has a little more than $1 million of cap space.
This amount is going to change in the coming weeks as the Vikings make the necessary moves to keep them relevant and in playoff contention. Reiff will be a big locker room miss if they decide to move on from the experienced offensive tackle.
Reiff will not be short of offers from elsewhere if he is shipped out. He turned things around last season with an increased level of consistency after a poor 2018 campaign that left his future with the franchise in doubt.
He deserves a tremendous amount of credit for that. But the NFL is a business and Minnesota is in a real financial predicament this offseason.