While finding material for yesterday’s brief post on Guardian Caps for helmets, I came across some news around former safety Lewis Cine. Since leaving the program for the Draft in 2022, turns out things haven’t been going well for the former Bulldog.

Initially slowed in training camp of his 2022 season by a lingering leg injury, Cine saw action mostly on punt returns, up until his gruesome leg injury while playing in England against the Saints.

He recovered, and initial reports indicated that he looked to be back to normal and ready to be a contributor to the Vikings defense, but he again saw mostly special teams action and only recorded a single tackle during the 2023 campaign.

In scanning the internet for video of his famed collision with Kyle Pitts, I saw more and more articles indicating that Cine may be cut from the Vikings and traded to another team.

Then I came across this:

Color me shocked. In all the reading I do about Dawgs in the NFL, I hear nothing but great things about their professional readiness and depth of knowledge of the sport. I don’t know how Cine could’ve survived Smart’s defense without a level of dedication and study that we’ve come to know from the Georgia program, so I wonder what’s going on with Cine since joining the league.

Here’s hoping it’s situational and not a sign of things to come for him. Maybe a new team and different staff will revive his career and get him up to speed as the former defensive wrecking ball we came to know and love in Athens.