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Vikings safety Lewis Cine: ‘A healthy me is a dangerous me’

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Published  August 21, 2024 2:14pm CDT
Minnesota Vikings
FOX 9

Vikings safety Lewis Cine splashes in preseason

Vikings safety Lewis Cine spoke at practice Tuesday after a team-high 11 tackles, a sack and an interception in Saturday's preseason win at Cleveland.

The Brief

    • The Vikings travel to Philadelphia for their final preseason game on Saturday. They then must trim their roster to 53 players by Tuesday, Aug. 27.
    • The Vikings moved back into the first round in the 2022 NFL Draft to get Cine, a safety out of Georgia, with the No. 32 overall pick.
    • Cine has not been the same since a devastating leg injury suffered in London against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6 of 2022.

EAGAN, Minn. (FOX 9) - If Lewis Cine is among those to make the Minnesota Vikings final 53-man roster when cuts are made early next week, he can look at the second preseason game at Cleveland as a possible turning point. He had a team-high 11 tackles, had a sack and got an interception off a tipped pass.

 The first two seasons of his NFL career have been tough, but he could smile on Saturday.

"I was just excited to have fun, honestly. Flying around, running around, felt free," Cine said Tuesday. "I was not really thinking about what people had to say, expectations and all that. You’re having fun with it, everything will handle itself."

A tumultuous start

A first round pick two years ago, Cine early on was looked at as the future after Harrison Smith. But Cine has yet to make a start at safety. He was playing punt return on special teams in London against the Saints when his left leg and ankle got stuck and shattered. He was carted off the field and spent a week in the hospital before flying back to Minnesota.

He’s played a total of 10 games over two seasons, and was inactive for 10 games last season.

Making strides

Cine has spent most of training camp at safety with the second-team defense. He made two tackles in the first preseason game before breaking out at Cleveland.

He’ll have one more chance to prove himself at Philadelphia this Saturday. There are currently six safeties on the roster, including Cine. Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum, Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson are locks, while Jay Ward may move to defensive back. 

Will Cine make the team?

The consensus is he still has work to do to make the team, but he helped his cause in Cleveland. If he does get cut, that signals a pretty massive miss by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the front office. While you can’t control injuries, we haven’t seen enough of him when healthy.

"That’s not really what I’m thinking about. I’m just thinking handle the things I can handle and let the pieces fall where they may. I’m not oblivious to knowing this is a business at the end of the day, but I’m confident in myself," Cine said. "I’m confident in the player that I am. A healthy me is a dangerous me, that’s all I can say about that."