Free Agent Ditches the Jets Last Second, Bolts for Bills

Well, that didn’t last long.

Former Minnesota Vikings first-rounder Lewis Cine cleared waivers and became an unrestricted free agent this week.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN shared on Wednesday, August 28 that Cine was signing with the New York Jets.

However, Cine changed his mind and joined the Buffalo Bills instead.

“Plot twist: Former Vikings first-round S Lewis Cine is expected to sign with the Bills’ practice squad,” Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network shared on Thursday, August 29. “Cine, who is headed to Buffalo now, had initially leaned toward the Jets but opts to go elsewhere in the AFC East.”

What the Heck Happened in This Jets-Bills Situation With Cine?

Rich Cimini of ESPN revealed that the Jets expected him to “fly in for a physical” and ultimately would have signed a deal to join the team’s practice squad.

“Bills are rebuilding at safety and he apparently saw a better opportunity. Nothing is done until the deal is signed,” Cimini explained on social media.

“After planning to sign with the Jets, Lewis Cine has now pivoted and is signing with the Bills practice squad,” Fowler said. “Cine changed his mind after sorting through everything Wednesday. His college coach, Jahmile Addae, is the DB coach in Buffalo. Was heavily recruited by teams throughout the day.”

Something seemed off on Wednesday, August 28. Fowler reported that Cine was joining the Jets. However later that day when the green and white announced its full practice squad in a press release, Cine wasn’t listed.

Now we know why.

Social Media Strongly Reacts to Cine Spurning the Jets

“I don’t care if he never steps on the field. Lewis Cine is an enemy for life,” a social media user said.

Michael Nania of Jets X-Factor jokingly thanked Cine for his tenure with the team.

“0 penalties, 0 missed tackles, 0 blown coverages. The BEST to ever man the deep middle in green and white. Thank you, Lewis Cine. #ThankYouLewis”

Another fan said he, “Can’t wait till Mike Williams does this to Lewis Cine in the Bills game.”

“I made a vid about Lewis Cine being the perfect reclamation project for the Jets. I’m now about to make a vid on how the Jets dodged a bullet with this POS going to Buffalo instead,” a Jets content creator said.

Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said, “All the Lewis Cine celebrations were for naught.”

“Antoine Winfield, Anthony Barr, Lewis Cine……I guess Jets gotta stop trusting Vikings players lol. All seriousness, would’ve been curious to see what Saleh/Ulbrich had in mind for developing Cine, but he has one career tackle. Not going to get too bent out of shape over this,” Jets radio host Scott Mason said.

To Mason’s point, this isn’t the first time the Jets have been burned in the past – specifically by former Vikings players.

It doesn’t feel good when you think you have a player coming into the building and then you don’t.

A valuable lesson with a story like this is a deal isn’t done until it’s done. A gentleman’s agreement is not necessarily an ironclad deal.

Look no further than the Haason Reddick situation with the Jets. Both sides seemingly had an understanding of how this thing would play out over the last couple of months but they had nothing agreed to on paper.