Detroit Lions: Riley Reiff decision a necessary evil

Just a couple of years ago, the Detroit Lions had one of the NFL’s most promising offensive lines, as Larry Warford, Riley Reiff, and LaAdrian Waddle seemed to be key building blocks in front of Matthew Stafford. All three of them regressed badly last season, with Waddle earning a pink slip and Reiff…earning a raise.

Yes, Riley Reiff will be back for the Detroit Lions in 2016 after the worst season of his career, as he was an absolute turnstile for much of the season. Stafford isn’t the best of quarterbacks, sure, but it’s a miracle he had 7.2 yards per attempt, 32 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in a quietly impressive season statistically behind an embarrassment of a line.

Earlier today, the Detroit Free Press’s Dave Birkett reported that new Lions GM Bob Quinn, formerly of the New England Patriots front office, confirmed Reiff will be staying for the 2016 season.

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It’s a decision that is open to criticism for two reasons. Firstly, Reiff stunk up the joint last season. Secondly, and most importantly, Reiff will make $8.07 million this upcoming season after the Lions exercised his fifth-year option in the 2015 offseason, and not even the biggest Iowa fan- or one of Reiff’s relatives- could convincingly argue that he’s an $8 million player.

Reiff might not even be worth half of that to some, but spending $8 million on Reiff next season is defensible from the Lions perspective. Why? Because they literally have nothing else.

I mean, just look at the other offensive tackles on their roster. They have Michael Ola, a few orange cones, Cornelius Lucas, Lamar Houston, a few parking tickets, an expired gift card from Martin Mayhew, Jay Cutler‘s bong, and a few Jon Kitna jerseys.

When one of those pieces wasn’t even good enough for the Falcons line (and no, I’m not talking about the bong), you know you don’t have depth. For as poorly as Reiff played last season, he’s the Lions best option at offensive tackle by a country mile, even if Ted Thompson is too fast for him to handle off the edge.

Reiff’s struggles with speedier edge rushers have made it seem like his best fit for the Lions is at right tackle or guard, and he could be a very good starter for them at either spot. In order for that to happen, the Lions need to find another tackle, whether that’s in the first round of the draft or elsewhere. Hopefully they find someone with more athleticism than Jack Conklin.

The whole LT vs. RT battle has become a wash recently, and we can give the Super Bowl performances from Von Miller and Mike Remmers credit for that. However, Miller also showed us that you need athletic tackles in this league now more than ever (or at least one athletic tackle), and keeping Reiff just cuts down their need for tackles from two to one.

It’s an $8.07 million deal to hedge their bets, because if the Lions let Reiff go- and I can’t emphasize this enough- they would have zero talent going into free agency at an incredibly important position. With Calvin Johnson‘s future unclear, they might as well say, “Hey Matt, we’re here to totally screw you over.”

Of course, the Lions and Quinn aren’t in the business of doing that, so they’ll take the cap “L”. The worst case scenario for Reiff is that he plays like he did last year, and the Lions offensive line has a repeat performance. The best case scenario, however, is that they add a good starting tackle, move Reiff over to guard or tackle, preferably the latter, and watch him bounce back to his pre-2015 form. If that happens, he could be worth the $8 million for a one-season commitment, given how difficult it is to find competent tackles in this league.

Sep 27, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions tackle Riley Reiff (71) waits for a play during the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Ford Field. The Broncos won 24-12. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

You always hate to see $8.07 million spent on someone who isn’t a difference-maker, but we have to think about this move in the reverse manner. No, Reiff isn’t a difference-maker, but there would be a considerably negative difference in the quality of play of the Lions if they didn’t keep him around.

Plus, there’s flexibility here, since he could conceivably play at guard if the Lions feel comfortable enough at the tackle position after their offseason moves are complete.

Though I am optimistic about some things, I am not optimistic about this, meaning that I think Reiff will be a starting tackle in 2016. This, of course, only increases his value to the Lions, because they can’t count on having any other options.

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Oh, and in case you forgot, he was only a below-average player for one season anyway. Who knows, maybe he can completely turn it around?

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