On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Eagles added former Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine to their active roster. He spent the regular season on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad.
Cine was Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft pick as Vikings GM in 2022. He was projected to be a fit in Ed Donatell’s defense, which was part of the Vic Fangio system. Cine didn’t crack the initial starting lineup and was primarily a special teams player before suffering a compound leg fracture in London four games into the season.
Donatell was fired and replaced by Brian Flores after the 2022 season, further hurting Cine’s chances to get into the starting lineup. Cine’s downhill approach to playing defense didn’t translate to Flores’ system, which emphasizes versatility and a complete understanding of the playbook.
The 2024 preseason was spent getting Cine on the field to showcase his ability. Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson had passed Cine on the depth chart, and it had become obvious he wouldn’t make the final roster. Minnesota’s hope was to trade him and receive some compensation in return.
Although the Vikings ultimately ended up releasing Cine, he did make an impact in the preseason. Against the Cleveland Browns, he had a sack and interception. He didn’t have the same impact in the final preseason game against the Eagles, but he must have made enough of an impression on tape for them to add him to the roster this week.
Cine appeared in one game for Buffalo. He played 16 special teams snaps in a Week 14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.