One Viking Knows It’s All on the Line This Summer
Minnesota Vikings fans know Lewis Cine needs a productive summer to avoid an end-of-summer roster cut, and the player himself is rather self-aware.
One Viking Knows It’s All on the Line This Summer
Cine enters Year No. 3 in 2024, hoping to ensure a 53-man roster spot for September, and if that comes to fruition, find some playing time on Sundays.
“This is huge for me on a personal note. I think I’ve really got to show out and really ball out and prove why I should be here and why I deserve to be playing in the NFL,” Cine told reporters on Wednesday, the first day of Vikings live activities at training camp.
Minnesota made Cine the very first pick of the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah + Kevin O’Connell era 30 months ago, and the team’s fans have spent 30 months wishing the club drafted Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton. In fact, it’s all some folks talk about, especially when Hamilton is on television.
Cine continued, “Just because you got drafted in the first round, that doesn’t mean you’re just handed anything. You’ve got to understand that these are jobs. It’s unfortunate that I broke my leg [in 2022], but that’s long behind me.”
The Georgia alumnus reached the 53-man roster last year, freshly healed from a broken leg he suffered in October 2022, just four games into his rookie season. The forecast last summer was lofty for the young defender, but then training camp and preseason arrived, and it became rather evident that Cine was running with clear reservist players. Thereafter, the 2023 season took place, and Cine saw defensive action on eight plays — in garbage time during a blowout at home versus the Green Bay Packers. Aside from special teams action, that was it for Cine in Year No. 2.
“I’ve got the opportunity to learn the defense and not be rushed where something bad could happen. Now I have to use this opportunity to show that I haven’t lost a step and that I’m still the same Lew that you drafted,” Cine concluded.
Cine could make the 2024 regular season roster, get traded for a late-round draft pick, or experience a roster cut at the end of August. Those are the stakes. If the Vikings had a logo for this year’s roster bubble, it would probably feature Cine’s jersey or face.
The “problem” for Cine is roster depth in front of him. Minnesota features these safeties:
- Harrison Smith
- Camryn Bynum
- Josh Metellus
- Lewis Cine
- Jay Ward
- Theo Jackson
It’s the Vikings’ deepest roster spot.
It’s worth noting that Minnesota would gain absolutely nothing by waiving Cine in August sans a roster spot for another player. There is no financial benefit.
Cine should experience extended action in the preseason, which kicks off for Minnesota in 2.5 weeks.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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