Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

The pay discrepancy between left and right tackles in the NFL is so great that one prominent former agent said there's no way Riley Reiff should re-sign with the Detroit Lions without testing free agency first.

Reiff played left tackle for most of his first four NFL seasons before switching to right tackle to accommodate rookie first-round pick Taylor Decker last year.

Reiff was considered about a league average left tackle before the move, and he'd stand to make significantly more money on a free-agent contract should a team want him to return to his old position.

Read more:

Lions hit free agency with plenty of cap room, but Stafford deal looms

Detroit Lions current salary cap database

The Lions intend to keep Decker, an all-rookie performer, at left tackle moving forward.

"The Lions have to figure out what they’re doing with their offensive line cause they got two guys up and there’s one that should not re-sign without testing the market if he is going to come back and that’s Riley Reiff," said CBS analyst Joel Corry, a former agent who now writes about the business side of sports. "To me, his best bet is trying to find someone who’s going to pay for his versatility or pay him to be a left tackle, cause left tackles and right tackles, it’s like apples and oranges financially."

Top left tackles like Trent Williams, Tyron Smith and Cordy Glenn have averaged $12 million to $13 million per year on long-term contracts they've signed in recent seasons, and even players like Jared Veldheer ($7 million) and Michael Oher ($7.2 million) make more per season than most of the top right tackles.

Lane Johnson got an extension worth $11.2 million annually, but Corry said that was in anticipation of his eventual move to left tackle. Other right tackles like Bryan Bulaga and Mitchell Schwartz average less than $7 million annually on their recent deals.

"Is a left tackle worth almost twice as much as a right tackle?" Corry said. "You’d think not, but from a salary standpoint right tackles have not caught up to the rest of the offensive line position."

The Lions' have two starting linemen scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on March 9, Reiff and right guard Larry Warford.

Read more:

Detroit Lions free agency preview: Offensive line

Upgrades will finally fix Wi-Fi at Ford Field

Warford and the Lions are not expected to strike a deal before free agency begins, and Corry said Warford could be in line for an even bigger payday than Reiff as a free agent.

"He’s not going to get ($11.7 million annually like Kelechi) Osemele (got last year as a free agent)," Corry said. "That’s going to be reserved for Zach Martin and his extension. But what was the upper tier has now gone down a tier. That’s the $8-million-per-year range, so that may be where Warford and the Ron Learys of the world are shooting for cause the Jets re-signed Brian Winters for like $7.25 million a year and $15 million in guarantees and I think Warford’s better than him."

Winters signed his four-year, $29-million extension last month, forgoing a shot at free agency. Corry said it wouldn't be a smart move financially for Reiff to do the same.

“If he’s going to be a right tackle, maybe he stays put and you guys potentially pay him a slight premium because he has a little bit of versatility," Corry said. "But if I represent him I’m trying to find him a left tackle job."

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!