With Trent Brown officially gone, the Las Vegas Raiders need to address the gaping hole he left behind. Picking up the recently cut Riley Reiff could be a smart stop-gap solution.
The Minnesota Vikings recently parted ways with Reiff, their starting left tackle since 2017. Over the course of that stretch, Reiff started in all of his 58 appearances in the regular season. Unfortunately, Minnesota opted to save $11.75 million dollars in cap space rather than retain him. As for the Raiders, they decided that Brown was no longer in their long-term plans. Whether you agree with the move or not, that doesn’t matter as the team now has a serious weakness.
It’s plausible that the Raiders can pick up Reiff on a decent contract, let’s say a two-year deal, giving themselves flexibility to rebuild their defense and avoid using a coveted first-round pick on a tackle. While there are some intriguing tackle prospects to be had, the defense should be the priority. Signing Reiff allows the Raiders to draft an interior defensive lineman or edge rusher, maybe even a cornerback.
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What could Reiff bring to the Raiders?
Replacing one of the top right tackles in the NFL won’t be an easy task. The timing of it is also unfortunate for a Raiders team with so many deficiencies. Luckily for them, Reiff and the rest of the offensive line would be in good hands under offensive line coach Tom Cable. The 32-year-old tackle has played mostly on the left side but was the starting right tackle for the Detroit Lions in 2016.
The priority for the Raiders offensive line is obviously to keep quarterback Derek Carr upright as he’s one of the more efficient signal-callers. Reiff has been solid in that department over these past three years with no signs of slowing down. In fact, Pro Football Focus has graded Reiff in pass protection these past three seasons at 71.3, 73.2, and 74.9, respectively.
Reiff himself only has nine sacks against his name during those three years. We still dont know what the Raiders’ brain trust has in mind for their offensive line with so many question marks. However, adding the veteran would remove a major concern for Las Vegas this season at the very least. What are your thoughts, Raider Nation? Is Reiff worth a look for the Raiders?
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*Top Photo: Stephen Brashear/Associated Press