Former Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff ended his free-agent visit in Cincinnati on Friday morning by agreeing to sign with the Bengals, according to multiple reports.
Former Vikings tackle Riley Reiff agrees to sign with the Bengals
Reiff will protect quarterback Joe Burrow next season after he was released by Minnesota earlier this month.
March 19, 2021 at 2:25PM
Reiff, the 32-year-old former Vikings team captain, was cut by Minnesota earlier this month to free up more than $11 million in salary cap space. The Vikings had hoped to retain Reiff on a restructured deal, according to a league source, but he opted to test a free agent market that was lacking proven left tackles.
Since signing with the Vikings in 2017 free agency, Reiff started 62 games (four playoff starts) and missed just four appearances to injury. He was coming off his best season in Minnesota, solidifying quarterback Kirk Cousins' blindside as general manager Rick Spielman praised Reiff's growth over four seasons.
Reiff liked the Vikings, too, enough to take a $5 million pay cut to avoid getting released in late August when Spielman traded for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. He recouped $2 million through incentives, including a $1 million bonus the Vikings gave him in February after he barely missed a playing-time benchmark due to a positive COVID test before the season finale.
He'll protect Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow next season as Cincinnati's top offensive free-agent signing. The Bengals have also agreed to deals with ex-Saints defensive end Trey Hendrickson, ex-Steelers cornerback Mike Hilton and ex-Cowboys cornerback Chidobe Awuzie.
Andrew Krammer is joined by Matthew Coller of Purple Insider to discuss the Vikings offense, what they think of Justin Fields and the Bears, and they talk what's been expected and unexpected through four games.
