The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the toughest rosters to crack in the NFL thanks to their success in the NFL Draft. The defending champions have one of the deepest rosters in the game, which has played a role in their success.
Those established pieces on both sides of the ball leave fewer opportunities for players looking to kickstart their respective careers with a fresh start, as 53-man rosters fill up quickly when you're at the top of the mountain in the NFL. Those opportunities are more scarce when the player in question has a history of not being able to stay on the field.
While he still has the chance to prove the doubters wrong, one former first-round pick will need to prove he can stay healthy while still having an impact on winning if he wants to make Philadelphia's final roster.
Injury-Prone Eagles S Lewis Cine Needs Strong Camp to Stick Around
Lewis Cine was a first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022 after completing a standout collegiate career at the University of Georgia. Unfortunately for Cine, a compound fracture suffered just four games into his rookie season completely changed the trajectory of his career and now leaves him fighting to make the Eagles roster as a reserve safety.
While Cine did his absolute best to work his way back from that injury, impressing so much that a Vikings coach said the defender looked even more explosive than he was before the compound fracture, he struggled to regain the form he had as a star in the SEC. Since his injury, Cine has played in just eight games, seven of which came during the 2023 campaign after he'd rehabbed his way back to the field.
After unsuccessfully attempting to trade the defender, Minnesota released Cine before the 2024 season which led the defender to the Buffalo Bills where he appeared in one game as a member of the special teams unit.
Cine caught the attention of Howie Roseman and the front office as they signed him off of Buffalo's practice squad before the Eagles began their run to a Super Bowl championship earlier this year. The former first-round pick earned a Super Bowl ring thanks to that decision and now he wants to be part of the roster that looks to repeat as champions.
The safety will face an uphill climb to achieve that goal, but if he can prove he has regained some of the form he showed before the injury that turned his career upside down, the opportunity is there for him.