Vikings release OL Riley Reiff, save $11.75M in cap space

The Vikings are now nearly $9 million under the 2021 salary cap of $182.5 million following Wednesday’s release of starting left tackle Riley Reiff. The move clears $11.75 million off the salary cap.

Reiff played four seasons for the Vikings after signing a five-year, $58.75-million deal to come over from the Lions in March 2017. He took a $5-million pay reduction in 2020 to stick with the Vikings. The Vikings gave Reiff a $1M bonus a couple weeks ago, seemingly a good gesture to kickstart extension talks.

But talks with Reiff’s representation couldn’t produce an extension, resulting in today’s transaction. Reiff will be one of the best left tackles on the open market.

Now the question for the Vikings is this: Do they move Ezra Cleveland from guard to his natural tackle spot, draft a left tackle at pick No. 14, or shift Brian O’Neill from right tackle to left tackle? It’ll be interesting to see how they proceed.