{"id":125651,"date":"2025-06-13T03:46:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T03:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/125651\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T03:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T03:46:11","slug":"former-first-rounder-faces-steep-climb-to-crack-eagles-final-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/125651\/","title":{"rendered":"Former First Rounder Faces Steep Climb to Crack Eagles\u2019 Final Roster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former First Rounder Faces Steep Climb to Crack Eagles\u2019 Final Roster<\/a> originally appeared on Athlon Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With training camp on the horizon and roster cuts looming in late July, the Philadelphia Eagles are preparing to make tough decisions. Despite being the defending Super Bowl champions, no roster spot is guaranteed, and several players find themselves fighting for their NFL lives. Among those facing an uncertain future is safety Lewis Cine, whose journey to this point has been marked by both promise and adversity.<\/p>\n

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Cine was signed by the Eagles off the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad on Jan. 8, 2025, just days before the playoffs began. The organization clearly believed his potential was worth the gamble, even though he wasn\u2019t expected to play during the postseason.<\/p>\n

The former first-round pick\u2019s professional career began with a devastating setback. Selected 32nd overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, Cine suffered a compound fracture to his lower left leg during punt coverage in Week 4 against New Orleans. The injury required two surgeries and ended his rookie season before it truly began. Since then, Cine has appeared in just 11 NFL games across three seasons, logging only 10 career defensive snaps and one tackle.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia\u2019s safety landscape has shifted significantly this offseason. Starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Houston Texans for guard Kenyon Green and draft compensation, a move general manager Howie Roseman attributed to financial flexibility. Reed Blankenship remains entrenched as a starter following a breakout 2024 season in which he recorded 78 tackles and four interceptions. The Eagles also used a second-round pick to draft Andrew Mukuba out of Texas.<\/p>\n

Early signs from OTAs show a clear pecking order at safety. Sydney Brown, Mukuba, and Tristin McCollum are getting the majority of reps alongside Blankenship. Brown, entering his third year, has received the most first-team reps. Mukuba\u2019s five-interception season at Texas makes him an immediate contender. Cine, meanwhile, has been limited to only a handful of opportunities. The numbers\u2014and the reps\u2014paint a difficult picture.<\/p>\n

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One potential advantage for Cine is Philadelphia\u2019s well-documented Georgia pipeline. The former Bulldog joins Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, Nakobe Dean, and Kelee Ringo from Georgia\u2019s 2021 national championship team. Cine\u2019s college r\u00e9sum\u00e9 remains impressive: he was a first-team All-SEC selection and the Defensive MVP in the Bulldogs\u2019 national title win over Alabama. But pedigree alone won\u2019t earn a spot on a championship-caliber roster.<\/p>\n

Cine\u2019s road is steep. Mukuba and Brown are young and rising. McCollum is earning trust. Blankenship is entrenched. For Cine to secure a place on the 53-man roster, he\u2019ll need to show dramatic improvement\u2014and fast.<\/p>\n

At 25, Cine still carries the traits that made him a first-round selection: athleticism, toughness, and high football IQ. But injuries, setbacks, and the depth of talent around him have placed his NFL future in jeopardy. The Eagles have a strong track record of developing under-the-radar players, but the margin for error is thin on a roster chasing back-to-back titles.<\/p>\n

Lewis Cine has already shown resilience by fighting back from one of football\u2019s most gruesome injuries. Now, as training camp nears, he faces his most critical test yet: proving he belongs on a team with no room for anything less than excellence.<\/p>\n

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Related: Eagles’ Saquon Barkley Reveals New ‘Non-Retirement’ Plan<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Eagles Continue College Push With Executive Hire<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jun 13, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former First Rounder Faces Steep Climb to Crack Eagles\u2019 Final Roster originally appeared on Athlon Sports. With training…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[913,53,1172,25,1972,7,253,476,479,480,8295,461,259,477,896,6,12510,242,109,2476,9716,9717,425,16151],"class_list":{"0":"post-125651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-andrew-mukuba","9":"tag-buffalo-bills","10":"tag-c-j-gardner-johnson","11":"tag-eagles","12":"tag-first-round-selection","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-houston-texans","15":"tag-jalen-carter","16":"tag-jordan-davis","17":"tag-kelee-ringo","18":"tag-kenyon-green","19":"tag-lewis-cine","20":"tag-minnesota-vikings","21":"tag-nakobe-dean","22":"tag-new-orleans","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-nolan-smith","25":"tag-philadelphia","26":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","27":"tag-philadelphiaeagles","28":"tag-reed-blankenship","29":"tag-sydney-brown","30":"tag-the-eagles","31":"tag-tristin-mccollum"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114674007030250121","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}