Tag: lewis cine

Super Bowl 59: Vikings fans can watch a former first-round pick

A former first-round pick of Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be playing for the Eagles on Sunday. 

On this Super Bowl Sunday, we will be watching a rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs from two years ago. The game will have some new players mixed into the fold from roster building over that time, one player specifically is going to be familiar to Vikings fans.

A former first-round pick of Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be playing for the Eagles on Sunday.

Lewis Cine was cut during the final roster cuts in August but was signed quickly by the Buffalo Bills. Cine was cut later in the season and signed with the Eagles in January ahead of the Eagles playoff run to the Super Bowl.

Cine has not played any snaps since Week 14 for the Bills where he contributed with 16 special teams snaps played. He has yet to play a snap for the Eagles, but anything is possible for Cine on a Super Bowl Sunday.

The Eagles and Chiefs will kickoff at 6:30 P.M. EST/5:30 P.M. CST on Sunday.

Eagles sign former Georgia first-round draft pick

Philadelphia Eagles sign former first-round pick out of Georgia

The Philadelphia Eagles have signed former Georgia Bulldogs safety Lewis Cine off the Buffalo Bills‘ practice squad ahead of the NFL playoffs. Cine is the sixth Georgia Bulldog on the Eagles’ active roster (most of any team in the NFL).

Cine joins former Dawgs Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis, Kelee Ringo, and Nakobe Dean in Philadelphia.

Cine, a former Minnesota Vikings first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, appeared in just one game for the Bills this season. Cine’s NFL career has been disrupted due to injuries.

In 2022, Cine suffered a severe leg injury during his rookie season. He returned for the 2023 NFL season, but did not look like himself. He has played in 11 career NFL games and has one career tackle. Cine has primarily had a role on special teams. The newest Philadelphia Eagle recorded 11 tackles, one interception and a sack in a preseason game this year, so he has the potential to be a productive NFL player.

The former Georgia standout was defensive MVP of the 2022 national championship game.

Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Kelee Ringo, and Nakobe Dean of the Philadelphia Eagles all played college football with with Lewis Cine at Georgia. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Cine is still a young NFL player with immense potential.

Eagles sign former Vikings first round pick ahead of wild card game vs. Packers

Philadelphia Eagles sign former Vikings first round pick Lewis Cine off the Bills practice squad ahead of wild card game vs. the Green Bay Packers

The Eagles are adding depth to the secondary ahead of Wild Card weekend, signing Lewis Cine to the active roster. The former Vikings first-round pick and Byron Young were added to the roster, and his practice window was opened.

Cine was selected by Minnesota 32nd overall in the 2022 draft and joined the Bills practice squad after being released by the Vikings last summer. He broke his leg during his rookie season and was limited to playing 10 defensive snaps in 10 games over his two years in Minnesota.

The 24-year-old from Haiti is listed at 6-foot-2 and 199 pounds and is a low-risk signing after a decorated college career at Georgia. Cine earned defensive MVP honors in Georgia’s 33-18 win over Alabama in the national championship game in the 2021 season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Former Georgia Bulldog Lewis Cine finds new home

The former first round safety and star on Georgia’s 2021 defense is preparing to play for an AFC East team

Less than a day after being waived by the Minnesota Vikings last week, former Georgia Bulldogs safety Lewis Cine had seemingly struck a deal with the New York Jets to join their team. However, Cine decided on Thursday to instead sign with the Buffalo Bills.

Cine has not had an ideal start to his NFL career. He suffered a severe leg injury during his rookie season, which was a significant setback. Cine returned for the 2023 NFL season, but did not look like himself. He has played in 10 career NFL games and has just one career tackle. Cine has primarily played a role on special teams.

During his time with Georgia, Cine played in 39 games from 2019 to 2021. In his standout junior season, he recorded 73 tackles and an interception while being named MVP of the national championship game against Alabama.

Cine had a strong performance this preseason. He recorded 11 tackles, a sack, and an interception, as well as a huge hit on Browns quarterback Tyler Huntley.

The Bills parted ways with both Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde this offseason, leaving Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp in position to start at safety. Cine figures to have a chance to immediately break into their rotation and compete for a starting role. Cine is also reunited with former Georgia Bulldogs assistant coach Jahmile Addae, who is the cornerbacks coach for the Bills.

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah hints the 2022 NFL Draft has shaped his approach

Vikings general manager was asked what that draft meant for him, and he gave a very honest answer.

The 2022 NFL Draft was challenging for several teams as their draft picks didn’t pan out. For the Minnesota Vikings, the 2022 NFL Draft is one they would like to forget, at least the first two rounds,

This offseason, they turned the page on both of their first two draft picks by releasing one and trading another.

Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr. were both sent away this offseason, creating a fog around General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. He had just accepted the general manager role in January of that year, so folks are quick not to hold that draft against him, while others see it as no excuse.

During his media availability, the Vikings general manager was asked what that draft meant for him, and he gave a very honest answer.

“I would say that everything that I do in the future has some relevance to what I’ve done in the past. These are things I have thought about for a long period of time. . .more specific to what types of decisions you need to make. . asking, ‘Hey, where can you go get those players?’ There’s other teams with third-fourth round picks on different practice squads.”

The brutal honesty was refreshing from an NFL general manager, let alone one who has such brutal misses as the start of his tenure. Learning from things and adapting the next time you are presented goes a long way to finding success.

The 2024 NFL Draft will serve as a potential of how Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has learned from his previous mistakes.

Former Vikings first-round pick Lewis Cine signs with Buffalo Bills

On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills were able to secure a contract with Lewis Cine and sign him to the active roster.

After two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, they decided to cut their former first-round pick, Lewis Cine, on Monday. The first draft pick of the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah era never seemed to get much traction, and his ACL injury didn’t help matters.

Despite him seeing his tenure ending in Minnesota, a new chapter has already begun for him.

On Thursday, the Buffalo Bills secured a contract with Lewis Cine and signed him to the active roster, according to NFL Media. The Buffalo Bills have seen many of their defensive starters turnover this year, including both starting safeties.

Cine isn’t expected to start for the team, but it may give him as good a chance as any to earn meaningful reps during the 2024 season.

It should be noted, with the release of Lewis Cine, the two two picks from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft with the Vikings have been either released or traded this offseason.

Report: Bills sign former first-round pick who the Jets wanted

Report: #Bills sign former first-round pick who the #Jets wanted:

After working together with the New York Jets on a trade earlier this week, the Buffalo Bills have pulled the carpet out from under them relating to another player.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, safety Lewis Cine is expected to sign in Buffalo. The final pick of the first round in 2022 by the Minnesota Vikings, Cine is expected to join the Bills’ practice squad:

Selected out of the University of Georgia, Buffalo’s new cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae likely played a part here. Addae was Cine’s positional coach in college.

According to ESPN, the Vikings were attempting to trade their former first-round selection before he was released during roster cut-down day. 

Cine’s NFL issues have come thanks to injury. He suffered a leg fracture in Week 4 of his rookie season and has played only 10 defensive snaps over his first two seasons. Cine has one tackle in his career.

During the 2024 preseason, he played a team-high 150 snaps, recording 13 tackles and one sack in Minnesota.

Cine joins a safety room that’s had a changing of the guard this offseason. Following the departures of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, Taylor Rapp was handed one of the Bills’ vacant openings at safety.

The other spot has been a clear open competition between Damar Hamlin, Mike Edwards and second-round rookie Cole Bishop. All three have had various injuries during the preseason and no one has taken a clear hold of the starting spot.

The team has not yet officially announced Cine’s signing. In addition, another player will need to be released to make room for Cine on the 16-man practice squad.

Bills Wire will provide updates when information is made available.

[lawrence-related id=139465,139461,139456]

The Vikings 2022 draft class has not gone the way Minnesota’s then-rookie GM hoped

The Vikings 2022 draft class has not gone the way Minnesota’s then-rookie GM, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah hoped, with the top two picks gone already

The New York Jets announced they have signed Lewis Cine to the team’s practice squad. Cine jumps to the Jets after the team that drafted the Georgia safety in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings, pulled the plug on the Lewis Cine experiment.

It’s a frustrating ending to the draft marriage between Cine and the Vikings, one that was quite positively viewed back at in 2022. A devastating leg injury ruined Cine’s rookie season, and he’s never recovered enough for the liking of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Cine played in 10 total games in Minnesota, logging exactly one snap per game on defense. No other team claimed Cine on waivers this week.

Cine was the first-ever pick for Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, then a rookie general manager running his initial draft. Obviously, the injury to Cine was unforeseeable, but that whole first draft class from Adofo-Mensah in Minnesota has not gone as planned back in 2022.

1st round, S Lewis Cine: Waived at the 2024 roster deadline.

2nd round, CB Andrew Booth: Traded to Dallas earlier this summer. Two starts in 23 games over two seasons, 20 total tackles and one PD.

2nd round, OG Ed Ingram: Started 32 games at right guard and will continue to start for Minnesota.

3rd round, LB Brian Asamoah: Zero starts, plays almost exclusively on special teams

4th round, CB Akayleb Evans: Started 32 games and coming off a season where he notched 65 tackles, 7 PDs and forced three fumbles.

5th round, DT Esezi Otomewo: Waived after playing 89 snaps on defense as a rookie,

5th round, RB Ty Chandler: Ran for 461 yards and 3 TDs in 2023 while also catching 21 passes. He’ll be the No. 2 RB behind Aaron Jones in 2024.

6th round, OL Vederian Lowe: Traded during the 2023 roster cutdowns to the Patriots for a 2024 6th-round pick.

6th round, WR Jalen Nailor: 12 catches for 208 yards and a TD in 15 games thus far, though Nailor is poised to see the field more in 2024.

7th round, TE Nick Muse: Two offensive snaps in 2023, caught one pass for 12 yards in two years.

Ingram, Evans and Chandler ease some of the sting of those top two picks not working out, but teams that miss on premium picks are always at a major disadvantage. That’s been the development for Adofo-Mensah’s first draft class.

Vikings waive first-round draft pick from UGA

The Minnesota Vikings have waived former first-round pick, Georgia Bulldogs football standout Lewis Cine

In somewhat of a surprise, the Minnesota Vikings waived former first-round draft pick Lewis Cine on Tuesday. Cine, who played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs was selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Cine has had a tough start to his NFL career. He suffered a severe leg injury during his rookie season. He returned for the 2023 NFL season, but did not look like himself. He has played in 10 career NFL games and has one career tackle. Cine has primarily had a role on special teams.

The former Georgia standout, who was defensive MVP of the 2022 national championship, had a promising performance this preseason. Cine recorded 11 tackles, one interception and a sack for the Vikings in one game.

Cine will almost certainly get another shot in the NFL. The only question is where. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound safety is just 24.

Lewis Cine and Dalton Risner identified as trade candidates as roster cuts loom

One of the more handy ways to get someone you like, without competing with 31 other teams now waivers, is through trade.

With roster cuts looming, players are going to be moving all around the NFL through every transactional means possible. One of the more handy ways to get someone you like, without competing with 31 other teams now waivers, is through trade.

Two players who have emerged as potential trade candidates are Lewis Cine and Dalton Risner.

Lewis Cine is a former first-round pick for the Minnesota Vikings but has struggled to find consistency on the field or maintain his health. Ben Goessling of The Star Tribune recognizes that a trade is possible, but his health may make it tough to complete. Compared to a roster cut, a trade would save the team $1.75 million in salary cap, so there is an incentive for flexibility.

On the other hand, Dalton Risner has more trade value. He is worthy of starting for an NFL team this Fall, just not the Vikings. The team also rewarded Blake Brandel with a contract this offseason, which almost cemented him into the starting role. Andrew Krammer of The Star Tribune suggests the team may eat $1.1 million against the salary cap and release Risner.

He has been healthy in his NFL career, though, so a trade may be salvageable. Either way, it appears Lewis Cine and Dalton Risner have both played their last games for the Minnesota Vikings.