Giants Named Potential Landing Spot for Vikings First-Round Pick
The New York Giants are looking to fill quite a few questionable spots on their 53-man roster this week, and one position they may be looking to bolster is safety. The Giants currently have a good combination in Tyler Nubin, Jason Pinnock and Dane Belton, but the team will probably want to add some depth. That’s where former Minnesota Vikings first-round pick Lewis Cine could come into play, if Cine doesn’t make the Vikings’ final 53-man roster.
Lewis Cine to the Giants?
In an August 24 article, Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report named the New York Giants as a potential landing spot for Cine. He also named the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets as other teams who could become Cine’s new home.
“Both the New York Jets and New York Giants have questionable safety depth,” he wrote. “Cine hasn’t proven enough to be considered a starter for anyone, but he’s a great athlete whose college film looked good enough for him to be a first-round pick. The Giants safety room took a massive hit when Xavier McKinney wasn’t retained and the Jets lost Jordan Whitehead.”
Regarding the Baltimore possibility, Ballentine said, “The Ravens have a strong starting trio, but Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson are both on the older side. Cine could be the fourth safety who develops into a long-term solution at the position.”
Inside Lewis Cine’s Time with the Vikings
Cine hasn’t been available the way the Vikings had hoped since bringing him on as the No. 32 pick from the 2022 NFL Draft. The safety has only played 10 games in the first two years of his NFL career. After dealing with a broken leg during his first season, Cine simply hasn’t gotten back into top form.
Ballentine notes that, “The Vikings have a healthy safety competition going on with Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus as locked-in options.” He also notes that the team has “already parted with one young defensive back with injury issues. They traded cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys for Nahshon Wright. Cine could be the next young defensive back to go.”
Minnesota’s unofficial depth chart has Cine included as a third stringer behind Theo Jackson.
The fact that Cine has been injured for so much of his short NFL career would make bringing him into the Giants’ camp a bit risky, since they already had a lot of injuries in house. But, if the Giants feel they need to add safety depth, Cine would be one of the most high-profile guys available, if the Vikings decide to give him up.
