Tag: lewis cine

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.

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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.

Minnesota Vikings beat writer believes team will trade Akayleb Evans

With roster cutdown day just a day away, will the Minnesota Vikings look to trade cornerback Akayleb Evans? One beat writer thinks so.

Tomorrow is the official roster cutdown deadline in the NFL. By tomorrow afternoon, every team in the league needs to have their roster trimmed down from 90 players to the 53-man roster. A lot of that player movement has already occurred, but a lot of movement has yet to happen. And that movement doesn’t necessarily just mean players being waived or released.

Trades are a real possibility as teams look to get a return on players they would otherwise cut, and other teams look to add players without competing with the entire league on the free-agent market. For the Minnesota Vikings, one of those players who could be enticing trade bait is cornerback Akayleb Evans.

According to Alec Lewis, Minnesota Vikings beat writer for The Athletic, it’s likely that the Vikings are looking to trade the third-year corner. Trading Evans would free up a roster spot for someone like Dwight McGlothern, who has been was a standout during training camp and the preseason.

More than allowing a talented young player a shot at the roster, though, if the Vikings can flip Evans for a late-round draft pick, it could improve their flexibility going into the 2025 NFL Draft. As things stand today, the Vikings only have three picks in the upcoming draft. They’re likely to receive a compensatory pick for free agents lost, but those have yet to be announced.

Flipping Evans for a draft pick would help the team feel slightly better about their lot going into the draft, and give them a bit more ability to maneuver during it. It’s still not much, but it’s a start. And that could be further improved if the team looks to, and is successful in, trading fellow defensive back Lewis Cine.

Could the Vikings trade safety Lewis Cine?

The Vikings could look to move their former first-round pick.

The Vikings spent a first-round pick on safety Lewis Cine in the 2022 NFL Draft. The former Georgia Bulldog suffered a broken leg during his rookie season and has yet to fully bounce back for the Vikings. Following an impressive game against the Browns in which he had 11 tackles and an interception, Cine is full of confidence.

But even with his impressive performance, Cine is right on the bubble of making the Vikings 53-man roster. Minnesota already has at least Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus, and Cam Bynum ahead of him on the depth chart. You may even be able to add Theo Jackson into the mix as well.

Since it may be hard for Cine to crack the depth chart, Eric Edholm with NFL.com tabbed Cine as a trade candidate.

Edholm noted no team would likely give the Vikings the value they may want for someone they spent a first-round pick on, but Minnesota could see a Day 3 pick in return. If the Vikings would choose to move on from Cine, a fresh start might be in the best interest of both parties.

Lewis Cine not lacking confidence after strong preseason game

The former first-round pick knows what he’s capable of after a strong preseason game.

A major elephant is in the room when you talk about former first-round selection Lewis Cine. After two seasons in the NFL, Cine has been tabbed a draft bust, along with fellow draft pick Andrew Booth Jr.

But are things starting to look up for the former Georgia Bulldog product? Cine had a tremendous game this past weekend in Cleveland. Cine had 11 tackles and intercepted a pass. The third-year player says he can do this when he’s healthy.

“I think that happens when I’m healthy,” Cine said speaking to a reporter. “I’ve worked on the things I need to work on. Keying in on the defense and everything. Just have fun with it and not think.”

Cine is right on the 53-man roster bubble. Some analysts see him getting another shot, now that he’s healthy, while others see the Vikings either trading him away or cutting their loss and waiving him.

Cine says he’s not focusing on the what-ifs. He wants to control what he can control. The safety isn’t lacking any confidence after his huge game, saying he can be very dangerous if healthy.

“I don’t know for sure,” Cine stated. “That’s not really what I’m thinking about. Just working and stacking the pieces together. Control what I can.. I’m not oblivious to knowing this is a business at the end of the day, but I’m confident in myself. A healthy me is a dangerous me, that’s all I can say about that.”