The Minnesota Vikings secondary has been a mess over the past three seasons and doesn’t look considerably more promising heading into 2024.
While the cornerback position is a hodgepodge of unproven youth and mediocre veterans, and among the most likely areas for Minnesota to add, the safety spots are relatively solidified. Veteran Harrison Smith and fourth-year player Camryn Bynum are more or less locked into the starting positions, with Joshua Metellus and Theo Jackson slotted in behind them as second-string, per the team’s most recent unofficial preseason depth chart.
The relative continuity Minnesota has at safety and the hierarchy that has developed at the position over the last year or two now looks like it may freeze a recent first-round pick in Lewis Cine out of a roster spot.
“Last season, Cine appeared in seven games but was again primarily a special teamer (eight defensive snaps). He heads into Year 3 knowing it’s a make-or-break campaign,” Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report wrote on Monday, August 12. “Cutting Cine would actually cost Minnesota $2.3 million in cap space, so the Vikings will likely look to dump him in a trade before releasing him. However, he could still be cut if the team is desperate for a roster spot.”
Cine signed a four-year, $11.5 million rookie contract with the Vikings two years ago. The team had the option in May to exercise a fifth year on that deal for the 2026 campaign, but chose not to do so. Given Cine’s almost non-existent playing history, his injury concerns and the size of his contract, it is hard to fathom any type of trade market for the safety who is poised to enter his age-25 season in September.
Lewis Cine Unable to Find Field for Vikings, Even When Injuries Haven’t Been Issue
GettySafety Lewis Cine of the Minnesota Vikings.
Cine’s NFL career got off to an inauspicious beginning and went downhill from there.
Despite his status as a first-rounder, Cine couldn’t find the field to begin his rookie year. He appeared in only three games and played just two defensive snaps before breaking his leg during a game against the New Orleans Saints in London in fall 2022. That was it for Cine’s inaugural campaign as a Viking, and a lengthy rehabilitation process followed.
Whether it was due to the injury/rehab or some other factor(s), Cine couldn’t elevate to a regular role on defense last season either. He appeared in seven of 17 games, almost exclusively on special teams, and has a total of 128 snaps of any kind to his name across two pro seasons.
Lewis Cine Understands Stakes Entering Third Training Camp With Vikings
GettyMinnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine.
Cine understands the seriousness of his situation and spoke about that with Darren Wolfson of KSTP last month.
“I haven’t lost a step.” #Vikings safety Lewis Cine told our @DWolfsonKSTP following a team walk-through today.
Cine enters his third training camp after being the Vikings’ first-round pick in 2022.
@JoeSchmitKSTP will be live from camp at 5, 6, and 6:50p on @KSTP.
“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.”
He went on to highlight the stakes, as he sees them, entering training camp in the context of his future in the league.
“This is huge for me, on a personal note. I think I really gotta show out and really ball out and prove why I should be here and why I deserve to be playing in the NFL,” Cine continued. “The NFL is, you always gotta prove yourself day in and day out. Just because you get drafted first-round, that doesn’t mean you’re just handed anything.”
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Vikings Former 1st-Round Pick Dubbed Likely Cut Candidate