Patriots Signing OT Riley Reiff, Tender OT Yodny Cajuste

According to Dianna Russini, the Patriots are signing veteran OT Riley Reiff to the roster. 

He’ll compete to start at right tackle and provide depth on either side of the line. 

New England is also issuing an original round tender on restricted free agent OT Yodny Cajuste, per Andrew Callahan. It will cost $2.73 million in 2023 and likely ensure Cajuste stays with the Patriots, as another team would have to give up a third-round pick to sign Cajuste to an offer sheet.  

Reiff, 34, is a former first-round pick by the Lions in the 2012 NFL Draft. He finished his four-year, $7,993,700 rookie contract with Detroit and made another $8,070,000 under his fifth-year option.

Reiff signed a five-year, $58.75 million deal with the Vikings as an unrestricted free agent in 2017. He was entering the fourth year of the deal and was set to make base salaries of $10.9 million and $11.65 million the next two seasons when Minnesota forced him to take a pay cut entering the 2020 season.  

The Vikings opted to release Reiff the following offseason. He landed with the Bengals on a one-year, $7.5 million deal in 2021, then signed on with the Bears during camp for the 2022 season. 

In 2022, Reiff appeared in 16 games for the Bears and made 10 starts at right tackle. Pro Football Focus graded him as the No. 51 overall tackle out of 81 qualifying players.

Cajuste, 27, is a former third-round pick of the Patriots back in 2019 out of West Virginia. He signed a four-year, $3.5 million rookie contract. However, he was placed on the non-football injury list with a quad issue and missed the entire season in 2019. 

Cajuste was cut and placed on the practice squad in 2022 before later returning to the active roster. 

In 2022, Cajuste appeared in 10 games for the Patriots, making three starts.