Riley Reiff Agrees to Restructure Contract to Stay with the Minnesota Vikings

Following the trade for Yannick Ngakoue, the Minnesota Vikings needed to find a solution to get under the salary cap. Riley Reiff became the solution.

Yesterday (August 31), reports surfaced that Reiff and the Vikings were in discussions about a possible contract restructure, or the Vikings would part ways with the Parkston native. Most reports, including one from Pro Football Talk, were leaning towards Reiff saying goodbye to the team and trying his luck on the free-agent market.

Well, not so fast. That isn't the case anymore.

ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates, and confirmed by ESPN's Adam Schefter, that Reiff and the Vikings have agreed on a restructured contract that would get the Vikings under the salary cap. The move will keep Reiff with the team for the 2020 season.

For Reiff, this is probably the best move he can make as of now. Being that the regular season is under two weeks away, Reiff would have to go into free agency, find a new home, pass COVID-19 testing, learn a new playbook, and get up to speed by Week 1 if he would have been cut now. In a normal, non-pandemic, year, Reiff may have been better suited going into free agency and seeing if a team would pay him closer to what he would want. At least for 2020, this keeps some consistency with the coaching staff and team along with keeping things situated as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Reiff was set to earn $10.9 million for 2020. The terms of the restructured deal have not been released at this time.

The 31-year-old was drafted 23rd overall in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. After five years with Detroit, Reiff signed with the Minnesota Vikings. In total, Reiff has appeared in 120 games and started 112 of them.