Nobody will ever forget the Lewis Cine Era in the New York City metropolitan area.
After his legendary 19-hour stint as a faux member of the New York Jets, safety Lewis Cine has reportedly elected to spurn the Jets for the division-rival Buffalo Bills, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The former Vikings first-round pick is now expected to sign with the Bills’ practice squad, less than 24 hours after it was reported that he was expected to join the Jets’ practice squad.
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Plot twist: Former #Vikings first-round S Lewis Cine is expected to sign with the #Bills’ practice squad, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
Cine, who is headed to Buffalo now, had initially leaned toward the #Jets but opts to go elsewhere in the AFC East. pic.twitter.com/Ety9fbH6K1
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 29, 2024
It was Garafolo who initially reported at 1:22 p.m. ET on Wednesday that Cine was expected to sign with the Jets’ practice squad. However, when the Jets released their initial 17-player practice squad later that day, Cine was not on the list, raising questions about his roster status.
Some Jets reporters even speculated that the Jets wanted to sign Cine to the active roster once he learned the playbook. This caused some to think that New York was waiting to make a corresponding move to clear room for Cine on the 53-man roster.
Alas, none of that was meant to be, as Cine is headed off to Western New York. Cine is the latest player with Jets ties to join Buffalo, along with cornerback/returner Brandon Codrington (traded for a 2026 seventh-round pick) and quarterback Mike White (waived by Miami).
Cine’s No. 6 jersey is expected to be hung in the MetLife Stadium rafters at some point in the near future. The most flawless safety in Jets history, Cine never missed a single tackle or blew a single coverage in his stint with the team.
Joking aside, this is a relatively trivial development for the Jets, although some in the media will likely choose to use it as another opportunity to clown on the team. New York got spurned by a practice-squad safety who was waived and went unclaimed just two years after being a first-round pick. Yawn.
