The Patriots are expected to sign free-agent offensive tackle Riley Reiff, according to ESPN.

Reiff, an 11-year veteran, started 10 games last season at right tackle with the Bears but can play both sides. The Patriots expect him to win a starting job in training camp, per The Athletic.

Reiff started his career at left tackle and has enjoyed previous stints in Detroit (2012-16), Minnesota (’17-20), Cincinnati (2021) and Chicago (2022). Last season, Reiff allowed pressure on 6.1% of his pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus, and posted an average run-blocking grade. In New England, he joins Trent Brown and the newly-signed Calvin Anderson as the top contenders to start at offensive tackle next season.

The Patriots had a revolving door at right tackle last year between Isaiah Wynn, Yodny Cajuste and Conor McDermott. Reiff might also serve as a swing tackle if Brown, Anderson and/or a draft pick win the starting jobs. The 34-year-old is a former captain who also crossed paths with Pats interior lineman James Ferentz in college Iowa.

Before reaching terms with Reiff, the Pats re-signed McDermott and tendered Cajuste, a restricted free agent.

In a postseason press conference, Bears GM Ryan Poles raved about Reiff’s impact on his young team.

“That guy did more than a lot of people think for that O-line room and the mentality,” Poles said. “When I first got here, I wasn’t fired up on how we protected the quarterback in terms of getting ’em off the ground and that attitude and that physicality. He’s a reason why we ran the ball so well. We finished. We had an attitude. We had an identity and that’s a lot because of guys like him.”

Riley played only one snap in the Patriots’ 33-14 loss to Chicago last October, but started the team’s final 10 games. He also started all 12 games he played in with the Bengals in 2021.