The New York Jets are doing some more work on their offensive line.
Adam Schefter of ESPN shared on Thursday, June 9 that Gang Green is hosting former Detroit Lions first-round pick, Riley Reiff, for a visit.
Free-agent OT Riley Reiff, the former Lions’ 2013 first-round pick who spent last season with the Bengals, is visiting today with the New York Jets, per source.
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A Very Interesting Workout
The 33-year-old originally entered the league as the No. 23 overall pick in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft.
Reiff spent the first five years of his career with the Lions and then spent the next four with the Minnesota Vikings. Last year he had a quick stop with the Cincinnati Bengals.
In every season of his career, he has played in at least 12 games. Reiff brings monstrous size at 6-foot-6 and weighs in at 305 pounds.
Reiff has played in over 147 career NFL games and has started in 139 of those contests.
This would provide some invaluable depth at the offensive tackle spot for a Jets team that desperately needs it.
Gang Green’s two starters on paper are Mekhi Becton and George Fant who are both solid, but the depth behind them is incredibly unproven.
Solid Add to the Trenches
Here is a look at the current depth at offensive tackle for the Jets:
Mitchell is a developmental rookie tackle who is unproven. The other two veterans in Edoga and McDermott have been incredibly inconsistent during their spot starts historically.
What this team is missing is a Morgan Moses type. A proven reliable starter that has a long track record of success and can step up in a pinch.
Last year, candidly, the Jets got lucky landing Moses late in the middle of the offseason.
After a really solid 2021, Moses turned that one-year trial into a multi-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens during free agency.
Now they don’t possess that same security blanket and thankfully they’re working to change that this offseason.
If the Jets sign Reiff at worst he will provide some competition for both Fant and Becton at offensive tackle.
At best, he can be the break the glass emergency option on the bench if Becton or Fant gets injured.
There are plenty of options still surprisingly available at offensive tackle at this point in the offseason. Securing one of those pieces would give Jets fans a nice warm tingly feeling when their heads hit the pillow at night, knowing that their franchise quarterback is going to be okay.
The importance of that can’t be understated with a developing second-year quarterback in Zach Wilson relying on said protection.
As we saw last year the Moses addition was initially viewed as a bonus at the time but ended up being critically important when Becton went down in a heap in the season opener.
Fortunately, he was able to step right into the lineup, but if they wouldn’t have had Moses Gang Green would’ve been in some big trouble.
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Jets Are Hosting Monstrous Former First Round Pick for Visit: Report