Former Vikings safety Lewis Cine not heading to the Jets after all
By Adam Carlson
This was a make-or-break training camp and preseason for Lewis Cine. It would have taken a great performance for him to make the Minnesota Vikings roster for the 2024 NFL season. Sadly, that didn't happen and the former first-round pick was waived before the deadline.
Initial reports stated that Cine was expected to sign with the New York Jets. However, that also did not happen as a new report has the young defensive back landing with a different AFC East franchise instead.
Former Vikings safety Lewis Cine not heading to the Jets after all
NFL Network's Mike Garafolo shared on X that Lewis Cine is now expected to sign with the Buffalo Bills to join their practice squad. This comes less than 24 hours after the initial reports of him supposedly being expected to sign with the Jets.
Plot twist: Former #Vikings first-round S Lewis Cine is expected to sign with the #Bills’ practice squad, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 29, 2024
Cine, who is headed to Buffalo now, had initially leaned toward the #Jets but opts to go elsewhere in the AFC East. pic.twitter.com/Ety9fbH6K1
Vikings fans might find some humor in this news since Minnesota players have a bit of a history of messing around with the Jets and then not signing with them. It's difficult to know if there was a miscommunication or what led Cine to sign with Buffalo instead, but the former Vikings defensive back will get a fresh start on the Bills' practice squad and an opportunity to work his way into a contributing role.
In two seasons with the Vikings, Cine played a total of 10 defensive snaps and 118 snaps on special teams. He finished his stint with the purple and gold with one tackle in 10 games played, which is not exactly the production a team wants to see from a first-round pick.
Cine's aggressive play style in college was encouraging, but his health led to him missing significant time and he was also declared an inactive on game day when he was a member of Minnesota's 53-man roster the last two seasons.
A fresh start where he isn't surrounded with the expectations that come from being a first-round pick might be great for Lewis Cine. Perhaps he can carve out a role for himself with the Bills and work his way into a contributing role.
Of course, there is also a chance that something happens again and Cine ends up signing with someone other than the Jets or Bills. With how unpredictable this NFL offseason has been, fans likely wouldn't be too shocked if something didn't go as planned leading up to the 2024 season.
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