There are just some players you can’t quit. Maybe you loved them pre-draft, maybe they delivered a memorable moment, or perhaps you’re just immensely stubborn. For me, one of my pre-draft crushes that I just can’t give up on is none other than Lewis Cine, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first pick ever.
Maybe it’s me getting wide-eyed at his blazing 40 time or getting sucked in by the logo on his helmet as he excelled on one of the most dominant defenses college football has ever seen. Regardless, I loved the Lewis Cine pick in 2022. Some of the first pieces I wrote were fantasies about Cine using his speed to come downhill and blow dudes up or the Vikings using his versatility in three-safety sets alongside Cam Bynum and Harrison Smith.
Unfortunately, after the first few years of Cine’s career, the general consensus is that he was a colossal bust. I was wrong, Kwesi was wrong, and we should all apologize and be ashamed for ever overhyping this disaster of a player who should’ve been Kyle Hamilton all along….
But no. I apologize for nothing! Lewis Cine was always destined for greatness. His catastrophic injury in London was only a brief setback. He’ll resume his walk to stardom after leading the Vikings in nearly every defensive statistic in their second preseason game.
Booyah, baby! Never wrong, just early!
Coming off Saturday’s performance, I wanted nothing more than to join Cine on his victory lap in front of all the haters. All jokes aside, that had to be a pretty cool moment for a guy who didn’t know if he’d walk again less than two years ago, much less play football at a high level. He deserves a lot of credit.
However, in the past few days, it’s also become clear that Troy Polamalu‘s spirit hasn’t suddenly possessed Cine. Analysts have begun to highlight that Cine benefitted from being in the right place at the right time. Many of his best plays overshadowed some fundamental problems in his game that he hasn’t solved.
Luke Braun wrote a heartbreaking but informative piece on the Wide Left Substack about how, as much as he hated saying it, Cine’s game wasn’t that good. And I agree with a lot of his points.
Cine’s interception wasn’t the result of baiting the quarterback into a throw or elite coverage in one-on-ones. It was a tip-drill play that fell into his lap. His sack is cool, but the Cleveland Browns didn’t block him on that play. Both were plays that any player should make and have to make if you’re in that position. They’re the minimum expectations. It would’ve been alarming if he’d failed to capitalize on the stars perfectly aligning for him like that.
There were also times when Cine continued to hesitate and seemed to not trust what he was seeing. Safeties must make the right decisions with conviction, which is essential because you’re often the last guy in a gap or in coverage before a play becomes a potential game-breaker.
As is often the case, I think the truth lies somewhere in the nuanced middle. Did Cine play like a future Hall of Famer on Saturday? No. He played like a guy on the roster bubble who capitalized on a few golden opportunities.
Many smart people have suggested that Minnesota’s best move is to trade him while he’s got the slightest boost in his stock because it was a mirage. However, I contend that his value is likely still prohibitively low, and the Vikings have nothing to lose by waiting to see what Cine looks like with some positive momentum for the first time in his NFL career.
Think about the overtime Cine’s sports psychologist must have been working. Cine went from winning a national title and being a first-round pick to almost losing his leg and his mojo as a player. He had to learn to trust his body again, trust his eyes in Brian Flores‘s new run defense, and do so while the Vikings steadily buried him in a crowded safety depth chart. It’s been a long time since Cine has had meaningful success on the football field.
You need a win now and then, something to get your confidence going again. Lack of God-given ability has never been Lewis Cine’s problem. However, a lack of confidence may have been a major one.
I may return to eat these words, but Adofo-Mensah shouldn’t trade Cine. Let him savor that taste of success he’s been so desperate for the past two seasons because it may unlock something worth the investment. Maybe it’s a “sunk-cost” fallacy, but after sticking by him for this long, I feel shortsighted not to give him a chance.
I still believe the guy I lauded out of Georgia is locked in there somewhere. Maybe confidence can be the key that finally sets him free.
