Lewis Cine, a former first-round pick released by the Minnesota Vikings, is signing with the New York Jets, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday.
He is signing with the practice squad with the expectation he will be elevated when he is up to speed with the Jets’ defense, Fowler reports.
The Vikings drafted Cine with the 32nd overall pick in 2022 but cut him Tuesday, closing the door on one of the least productive first-round picks in recent memory.
Cine, 24, managed only 10 defensive snaps in two seasons, in part because of a compound fracture of his left leg in the third game of his rookie season.
When he returned in the spring of 2023, he was already a step behind the scheme installed by new defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Cine played in only 10 games over that stretch, finished his second season as the team’s sixth safety.
He lost any chance he had to move up the depth chart this summer when he was slowed by a lower-body injury.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert contributed to this report.
