Lewis Cine making the 2024 Vikings just got even more unlikely

More than two years after the Minnesota Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, to say Lewis Cine hasn't lived up to expectations during his tenure with the franchise would be putting it lightly.

In Cine's time with the Vikings, he's only been on the field for a total of 10 defensive snaps, and he hasn't appeared in more than seven games in either of his two seasons with the team.

Many already viewed him as a bubble player heading into Minnesota's training camp this summer, but some news recently dropped that will likely make it even harder for him to get a spot on the team's final 2024 roster.

Lewis Cine remaining with Minnesota Vikings for 2024 more doubtful after recent report

Cine's chances of securing a spot on the Vikings' final roster for the 2024 regular season were already slim, but they're even lower after what The Athletic's Alec Lewis recently shared.

On Tuesday, Lewis revealed that Minnesota special teams ace NaJee Thompson has switched his primary position from cornerback to safety. Assuming Thompson makes the Vikings' final 2024 roster because of his special teams excellence, Cine can now battle for one fewer spot on the team's safety depth chart.

Thompson is now part of a safety group that includes Cine, Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, and Jay Ward. During the next few weeks, Minnesota will have to decide how many safeties it wants to keep on its final 53-man roster for the upcoming regular season.

In 2022, the Vikings only kept four safeties on their final roster, and last season, they kept six from the position group.

Six safeties feels like the absolute max Minnesota would keep on its final roster for the upcoming 2024 season. Assuming Thompson, Smith, Bynum, and Metellus are all locks to make the team, that leaves two spots (at best) for Cine, Jackson, and Ward to fight for this summer.

Cine is running out of time to prove he can make an impact for Minnesota, which he'd likely do by staying on the field and impressing a coaching staff likely to focus more on Ward, their 2023 fourth-round pick. If things don't go well during training camp and the preseason this summer, then his tenure with the Vikings will likely come to an end.

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