The Minnesota Vikings gave up on former first-round safety Lewis Cine, who quickly found a new home with the Buffalo Bills.
Cine agreed to join the Bills’ practice squad on Thursday, August 29, just two days after the Vikings waived him following two unsuccessful campaigns in Minnesota.
There was some drama around Cine after he hit the market, as the No. 32 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft initially intended to sign with the New York Jets on Wednesday. However, Cine changed his mind in the interim and decided instead to go with the Jets’ AFC East Division rival to the west, per Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.
One possible reason for Cine’s change of heart is the prospect of a reunion with an old college coach.
“Cine, 24, also has a connection on the coaching staff through cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae, who coached defensive backs at Georgia in 2021,” Getzenberg wrote.
Lewis Cine Battled Injury, Scheme Issues During Time With Vikings
Cine’s two years in Minnesota were defined by injury as well as an inability to grasp scheme concepts, both of which kept him sidelined for the majority of his time with the Vikings.
The safety played only two defensive snaps across three appearances that mostly involved special teams work before suffering a gruesome injury against the New Orleans Saints in London. Cine’s broken leg cost him the remainder of his rookie campaign.
The Vikings flipped the script on defense the following offseason, firing Ed Donatell and hiring Brian Flores to run the show. But the change didn’t improve Cine’s situation, as a new system with complicated coverage schemes behind an array of blitz packages further complicated his learning curve.
Cine hinted at what his issues were during an interview with Darren Wolfson of KSTP in July.
“I’m looking forward to just balling with no thinking. I think a certain thing about … being a safety is the mental aspect of the game and clicking,” Cine said on July 24. “I feel a lot more comfortable with me communicating with my teammates and where I need to be.”
Unfortunately for Cine, the coaching staff wasn’t as comfortable with his progress, which led to his release following unsuccessful attempts to initiate a trade.
All told, Cine played in 10 games with the Vikings. He logged 10 defensive snaps and 118 special teams snaps over his two years with the team, per Pro Football Reference.
Vikings Face Major Questions Across Secondary
Minnesota is currently carrying four safeties, including starters Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum. Behind them on the depth chart are second-year defensive backs Jay Ward and Theo Jackson.
The bigger questions in the Vikings’ secondary reside at the cornerback positions. Mekhi Blackmon is out for the season with a torn ACL and fourth-round pick Khyree Jackson died tragically in a car wreck on July 6.
Minnesota signed veteran Stephon Gilmore to a one-year deal worth $7 million to start alongside Byron Murphy Jr. That will leave new addition Shaquill Griffin as the third cornerback on the roster, while Akayleb Evans — who started 15 games last season — will presumably slot in at the fourth CB spot.
The Vikings’ offense has been hit hard by injury during the preseason, which means the defense almost certainly must play well if the the team hopes to compete in a tough NFC North Division in 2024.
The unit allowed nearly 4,300 yards through the air to opposing offenses last season, which ranked it 23rd out of 32 teams in the NFL in that category.
