PHILADELPHIA – Lewis Cine wasn’t sure he’d ever play football again after a compound fracture to his lower left leg suffered covering a punt in the third game of his rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings.
“It was a freakish accident,” he said. “During a game. London. I saw my leg just blow out and hanging sideways. Got surgery. Everything went well in surgery. Rehabbed. The folks with the Vikings made sure I came back and nurtured me back to full strength.”
Cine was never able to really find his footing after an injury that required two surgeries. Despite drafting him in the first round back (32nd overall) in 2022, the Vikings released the defensive back after the 2023 season. The Bills signed him to their practice squad, where he lasted until earlier this week when the Eagles signed him to their roster on Jan. 8.
He’s a Georgia guy, so he fits right in. He’s also a Georgia guy the Eagles liked a lot coming out of school and thought he might still be around in the second round when their turn to pick came at No. 53. Whether they would have grabbed him or not had the Vikings not picked him 32nd overall, isn’t known, but there’s no argument that general manager Howie Roseman made the right selection when they went with Nebraska center Cam Jurgens in that spot.
“I do know one thing, when they were drafting Georgia guys, I was like, ‘Hey…I’m out here,’ said Cine. “Things work a certain way, but now I’m here, just put my head down, grind and let the pieces fall where they may.”
Cine said that Roseman called him after the Eagles released him and said to think about coming to Philadelphia at that time.
“I knew how Howie felt about me even when the Vikings released me,” said Cine. “He’s like, ‘Yo, we could use you, come over here.’ At the time I felt like there were a lot of moving pieces. I was overwhelmed with everything, had a lot of emotions going on, but everything worked a certain way. I’m here now and it’s crazy.”
Some sort of role for Cine in the playoffs, which begin Sunday against the Packers, can’t be discounted, though it would be on special teams if he finds one.
“I was impressed by him out at practice, (Thursday),” said head coach Nick Sirianni on Friday morning. “He made some good plays. You can really see a big guy, strong, great size, and really fast when I was watching him on some teams. Excited that he’s here.”
So is Cine, and some of that has to do with former Georgia teammates Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Jalen Carter, and Nolan Smith.
“Great love,” he said. “Before I came here, I thought I was gonna surprise them but apparently a lot of them already knew. They’re like, ‘Bro, we already know. You’re not surprising us, we already know, we’ve been trying for a good minute to get you here.’
“They must’ve been working behind the scenes, pulling those strings. It was a shocker to me, but it wasn’t a shocker to a whole lot of them. I’m happy to be here, happy to be with the guys, I feel comfortable, but at the same time, I’m ready to work and ready to grind.”
That’s what the offseason will be for, assuming the Eagles keep him around, and there isn’t a reason to think they wouldn’t, especially because he has position versatility. At 6-2, 200, he can play safety, corner, and, he said, hybrid linebacker if need be.
“(The offseason) will be a great time for me to really soak in everything with the defense, learn as much as I can, and also show my talent,” he said. “Let them see it, like, ‘Yo, here’s what I can do, here’s how I can contribute,’ and go from there.”
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