As the summer wears on, it seems more and more likely that the Vikings will part with their first-round pick and cut their losses by releasing him before his rookie contract expires.
Safeguard Lewis Cine, Minnesota’s 2022 first-round selection, “might have the toughest chance of earning a roster spot” among the team’s top picks, according to ESPN.
Cine’s NFL career hasn’t gotten off to the best start. His rookie season ended in Week 4 due to a compound fracture injury to his lower left leg sustained in 2022. The previous season, he played in seven games and recorded just one tackle—nearly all on special teams.
He has been practicing with the third string during the offseason because that has not prepared him to play a significant role in the Vikings defense in 2024.
“During the practices open to reporters, Cine appeared to be no better than the sixth safety on the roster, if you include all-purpose defender Josh Metellus,” according to ESPN. “Reserves Theo Jackson and Jay Ward, not to mention starters Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum, were all working ahead of him.”
But there’s a slim chance Cine can salvage his career.
He has to maintain his health first and foremost, but if he succeeds in doing so, he might be offered the chance to demonstrate that he is capable of playing at the caliber of play that made him a first-round selection just two years prior.
Cine recorded 73 tackles, one interception, and nine passes defensed in 2021, which contributed to Georgia’s national championship victory. His stay in Minnesota would be considerably extended with that kind of output.
But for the time being, his contract might speak for itself.
The Vikings would not save any salary cap space by cutting Cine because his $1.7 million base salary for 2024 is fully guaranteed.
Just that might persuade them to hold him on for special teams and emergency depth, but there’s a chance Minnesota doesn’t consider Cine to be among its 53 best players, in which case he leaves before the season begins.
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