The Philadelphia Eagles had one of the best defenses in the NFL last season, and they used it to bring home the second Super Bowl win in franchise history. With the confetti further in the rearview mirror, the Eagles gathered for OTAs over the past couple of weeks and set their sights on repeating next season.
While the Eagles will have some new faces defensively, there are some who will be looking to fend them off to keep their job. That includes a forgotten Eagles defender who is trying to keep his professional career alive and may not be able to stay on the team when the calendar turns to July.
Eagles Safety Lewis Cine Could Be in Trouble During OTAs
Eagles safety Lewis Cine may have gone under the radar in the minds of Eagles fans. A former first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings, Cine was released by the Vikings at the end of the preseason last year and spent time on the Buffalo Bills' practice squad before he was signed by the Eagles in January.
Cine has tremendous athletic ability, posting a 9.92 relative athletic score during the 2022 draft process and he was the Defensive MVP in Georgia’s win over Alabama in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Lewis Cine is a FS prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.92 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 8 out of 868 FS from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/5t3Ixi8uAc #RAS pic.twitter.com/HHqhIFiHrY
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 26, 2022
While Cine flashed plenty of upside, it hasn’t translated to the field. Cine played sparingly before breaking his leg during a game in London in October 2022 and appeared in just 10 games for the Vikings over two seasons before his release. Although he signed with the Eagles, he did not appear in a game and may already be on the verge of losing his roster spot.
Even with the trade that sent C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans, the Eagles’ starting roles are filled by Sydney Brown and Reed Blankenship. The Eagles added to the room by taking Texas safety Andrew Mukuba in the second round of April’s NFL Draft and Tristin McCollum is currently ahead of Cine on the depth chart.
With his current standing, Cine is just as much of an afterthought in the minds of the coaching staff as he is with Eagles fans, leaving him on the roster bubble before the Eagles even get to training camp.