Raiders Pushed to Add Former 1st-Round Pick With 149-Career Starts

Getty Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce.

The Las Vegas Raiders should be feeling good about their starters following the first preseason game vs. the Minnesota Vikings. The team went into halftime with a 20-7 lead but got outscored 17-3 in the second half and ended up losing 24-23.

While the Raiders starters played well, the performance in the second half shows that the team could have some depth issues. The Bleacher Report NFL Scouting Department put together a list of players every team should target after the first week of preseason football and they believe the Raiders need to sign free agent offensive tackle Riley Reiff.

“The Raiders have some health concerns on the offensive line just a few weeks from camp,” Alex Ballentine wrote in an August 12 column. “Kolton Miller has missed most of the offseason and preseason with a shoulder injury that has him on the PUP list. Rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson, who should be starting at left guard, is also on the list. It wouldn’t hurt for Vegas to bring in a veteran who could play either spot.

“That’s exactly what 35-year-old Riley Reiff would bring to the table. He’s not an ideal starter at this point in his career, but he’s a serviceable backup to go with Andrus Peat.”

Is Riley Reiff the Right Fit?

Reiff was a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions back in 2012. He’s played for five different teams and started 149 games in his career. He’s also played both left and right tackle so he has some versatility.

Notably, Reiff spent the 2022 season with the Chicago Bears where current Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was the offensive coordinator there. He should have some familiarity with the system so it wouldn’t be a huge learning curve if he were to sign with Las Vegas.

Left tackle Kolton Miller is on track to return soon, according to an August 9 story from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. If he’s back and healthy, the need at tackle should be less pressing. The Raiders also have Thayer Munford, DJ Glaze and Andrus Peat so adding Reiff might not be necessary.

Riley Reiff Grew up a Las Vegas Raiders Fan

If the Raiders decided to sign Reiff, it would be a dream come true for the veteran. Back when he was drafted by the Lions, the offensive tackle admitted that he was a fan of the franchise growing up.

“My favorite team was the Raiders but my mom was a Vikings fan,” Reiff said during a 2012 press conference, via MLive. “She is really happy right now.”

He wasn’t the only one in his family to follow the Silver and Black.

“My dad was a Raiders fan and so was the mailman so I kind of got brainwashed into it,” Reiff said. “[The mailman] would always tell me stories about the Raiders and how great they were so I became a Raiders fan. He used to stop by and talk a lot.”

After 12 seasons in the NFL, it’s likely that allegiance to the Raiders has changed but it wouldn’t be difficult for him to jump back in. Head coach Antonio Pierce grew up a Raiders fan so perhaps he’d like the idea of adding another one to the roster.