Reiff could play guard or tackle, Lions coach says

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Riley Reiff is about to get his first taste of a full NFL practice.

The Detroit Lions open training camp today, and the Parkston native and first-round draft pick Reiff will be in attendance. Reiff recently signed a four-year contract with the Lions reportedly worth about $8 million.

During a press conference Thursday prior to the start of training camp, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said he is excited to watch Reiff get to work.

“He’s a good player,” Schwartz said. “He showed it in (organized team activities). It’s hard to really get a good evaluation of players in OTAs, particularly linemen. So this is a very important part of his development and his evaluation.”

Reiff was the 23rd overall selection in April’s NFL Draft. Schwartz said Thursday Reiff played the right and left tackle spots during the offseason workouts, but the Lions have left the possibility that Reiff could play guard.

“He’s mainly going to play left and right tackle. You’ll definitely see him a little bit at guard like a lot of our other players,” Schwartz said. “ … You know, he’s going to have opportunities like every other player. We’re going to play our best players. Our best players are going to make our team and how that shakes out is going to depend on how well they do in practices, how well they do in preseason games, how well they develop and their ability to learn a system and not make errors — all those things. And he’s no different than any other player but we certainly have a plan for every single player.”

After signing his rookie contract, Reiff said he doesn’t care where he plays, but only hopes to help the team any way he can.

“Football is what I love to do,” he said. “Blocking for a great quarterback like Matt (Stafford), any chance I get to help the team, I’m going to do it as best as I can and as hard as I can.”

Tags: sports, updates, football, reiff