Lewis Cine has two years remaining on his rookie contract, but this summer could prove to be a pivotal point in his young NFL career. The Vikings safety is buried on the depth chart ahead of next month’s training camp. 
Minnesota pulled off a first-round swap with Detroit during the first round of the 2022 draft. Cine was selected with the No. 32 pick, and he faced high expectations after enjoying a successful tenure at Georgia. Ahead of his rookie season, however, it was clear he faced a steep path to a starting workload. Cine’s debut campaign was cut short by a leg fracture which required two surgeries.
The 2023 season saw the 24-year-old log only seven games and eight defensive snaps, and an uptick in usage does not appear likely at this point. As ESPN’s Kevin Seifert notes, Cine found himself behind not only starters Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum, but also backups Theo Jackson and Jay Ward on the depth chart this spring. Keeping in mind Josh Metellus‘ ability to wear many hats in the secondary, Cine faces plenty of competition for a roster spot. That is especially true given the team’s other moves in the secondary.
Minnesota signed Shaquill Griffin in free agency before adding Khyree Jackson in the fourth round of the draft. Those new cornerbacks will take up roster spots in addition to the aforementioned safeties, something which could leave Cine on the outside looking in during cutdowns. Training camp and the preseason will no doubt play a large role in how the team evaluates him.
As a former first-round pick, Cine’s base salaries for 2024 ($1.75MM) and ’25 ($2.27MM) are fully guaranteed. That could provide incentive for the Vikings to keep him in the fold, and a surprisingly involved and productive 2024 campaign could even give Minnesota reason to consider picking up his fifth-year option. Doing so would tie him to the team through 2026, but quite a bit would need to change over the coming weeks for Cine to receive any sustained looks on defense in the fall. His performances during camp will be worth monitoring.
Qwesi should have been fired in the spot. maybe they can get a late 7th rounder ….
For drafting a guy who immediately got injured? Like yea it was a bad pick but it was Kwesi’s first draft and it’s hard to blame him for Cine not developing after injury. Plus finding Bynum makes up for missing on Cine.
He didn’t draft Bynum, that was spielmann. But cine just hasn’t been explosive since his injury. He never gained his edge back. Hard to fault kwesi for that.
Oh damn you’re right, those pandemic years blend together but yea it’s obvious since the Cine year was his first draft. And yea I tend to never blame a GM for injuries unless it was a known injury before they brought the guy in. Cine could have been something had he not had that injury and had Donatell as his first DC (which is actually a legitimate knock on Kwesi and O’Connell)
Kyle Hamilton was on the board when they traded down. And he just drafted Mac Jones 2.0. Though I will say his trade with the Texans was a fleece. Couple of mid 2nds for a mid 1st.
First Kyle Hamilton was considered kind of a positionless tweener and who knows how he would have done in Ed Donatell’s system instead of Harbaugh’s. Second that’s such a terrible take on JJM, because A. he hasn’t even taken a snap yet and B. no rookie QB was going to succeed with the lack of talent NE had (and still has, can’t figure out why they took another QB). Mac Jones might have always been a bust but the Patriots gave him nothing to work with… which is the complete opposite of what JJM is getting. He might still suck but it doesn’t speak favorably to your sports opinions that you’re so certain a rookie QB is going to suck.
Oh, I must have forgot every 1st round QB ever taken is a success story. Imagine watching JJM in college and thinking that is not only a first round pick but a top 11 pick. He got a shiny prospect boost from being on the team that won the National Championship and went to the playoff three straight seasons. He is at best a 2nd round prospect. Very low ceiling that will never carry your team. That offense went through Corum.
You seriously don’t understand the draft or how it works. Based on your logic, the Vikings should have not taken a QB at all. They don’t need a HOF QB to win, they have a good team. JJ has shown he can win, and more importantly, not cost his team with silly mistakes.
Telling someone they don’t understand the draft then questioning if they should take automatically take a QB because it’s a need lol. That’s how they ended up with Christian Ponder. That’s how EJ Manuel got drafted. That’s how Daniel Jones got drafted. You don’t just take a player at the position for the sake of doing so. Bo Nix was on the board and he looks much better built for the pros. But hey if you want a guy who doesn’t stand out in any area and has a mediocre arm go ahead. He does not make any bad mistakes. But this is not college. The talent at the NFL level requires more than being a game manager with a bad arm.
I heard it said once that the good GM’s get 60% of their picks right, & the ones that get fired get 50% of their picks right. You can even miss in the first round ( Trey Lance, Solomon Thomas) if you get it right with the later picks (Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, Fred Warner, Talanoa Hufanga). The reason they can get away with the big Trey Lance blunder is because they got their quarterback & got to the Super Bowl. If Sam Darnold keeps the Vikings competitive this year, or J.J. takes over during the season & does well, wasting a first on Lewis Cine isn’t gonna matter in the long run.
One of many dumb moves by Kwesi he should be fired.
Yeah fire him for good call. Tell me what GM has nailed all their first round picks. I’ll wait……
Missing 1x won’t cripple a team/organization, but if the roster lacks depth and an identity because the GM continues to overvalue bad assets, move on.
Y’all are nuts .. fire Kwesi ? He’s low key rebuilt the Viking from a bunch of overpaid old guys to a relatively young team ,dripping with talent.. the fact Cine is even on the bubble is proof there’s enough talent.. Not many teams would entertain cutting bait with a RD.1 pick this soon, injuries or naww ..
I find myself liking this guy because his thought process is in a unique orbit where no one else ventures. Most successful people march to a different drummer than the rest of us.
Howie hears Georgia defense and immediately gets on the phone.