Vikings' safety Lewis Cine healed and happy — and about to be hitting people hard again

Daronte Jones walked through the trainer's room last October to get a bag of ice. What he saw in there stopped him cold.

About 10 days after safety Lewis Cine's bone-breaking, season-ending leg injury, Jones saw him walking — without assistance from anyone or anything.

This couldn't be the plan, Jones thought, so soon after the first-round rookie suffered compound fractures of the tibia and fibula. Wrapping concealed an inch-long gash on the inside of Cine's left leg where bones protruded just a few days earlier, as well as a bigger incision above his knee where surgeons inserted a rod that's with him for life.

Under doctor's orders, Cine took the new hardware for a test drive — a week after surgery — when his position coach walked in.

"I'm like, 'Lew, what are you doing? Where are your crutches?' " Jones said. "He's like, 'Nah, nah, Coach, they told me I'm OK.' I'm like, 'Dude, you're not supposed to be off crutches this fast.' "

"It was too fast for me," Jones added. "I was about to call everybody."

Nearly nine months later, Vikings training camp will begin with rookies reporting to Eagan on Sunday and veterans on Tuesday. Cine will be there, ready to run again.

The first practice open to fans is Saturday, when Cine's impressive recovery will come into full view. The hard-hitting safety was a participant in spring workouts. He's healthy, ready to earn NFL stripes and eager to show that his time away was spent growing as a person and player.

"It's mind-blowing," said special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, who suffered a similar injury as a Rams safety in 2013. "It's more of a mental block than it is a physical block, and I think he has surpassed that mental block because of how he trained and rehabbed his way back. He has that supreme confidence back in him and he's out there flying around."

Cine grinned when revealing he could walk unsupported a week after surgery — three weeks earlier than when he made headlines for walking past reporters for the first time.

"No crutches, no boot," Cine said. "Once I could flex my muscles, it was, 'Get up and walk.' It was, 'Lazarus, get up and walk.' My first couple steps were like a waddle, and once I could raise my feet up it was a walk."

Vikings players spent three days in London for the Oct. 2 win over the Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The team flew home after the win while Cine remained in the hospital for more than a week.

Cine boarded a private jet on his ninth day, accompanied by his father, Andre Cine, and Vikings assistant athletic trainer Connor Whicker, who stayed with him the whole time.

Any concern about whether Cine would play again quickly faded that week in London.

Cine knew his rookie season was over, ending on a punt return in which his left leg snapped under his 208-pound frame while blocking Saints safety J.T. Gray. But he quickly got a positive prognosis at the Cleveland Clinic London.

"They're like, 'Oh it's a clean break, he's doable,'" Cine recalled. "After I heard the surgeon say, 'Yeah, it can be fixed,' I kind of wired my head into like, 'All right, it's time to grind so I can come back.' "

The Vikings lauded Cine's medical care in London, where he underwent a preparatory procedure and surgery led by Dr. Aswinkumar Vasireddy, the Orthopedic Trauma Group Lead Surgeon. Cine was told he got the hospital's best surgeon for a "wrong place, wrong time, wrong speed collision," said Tyler Williams, the Vikings' top sports performance director.

"Some of the surgical techniques that they did were phenomenal," Williams said.

A day after surgery, Cine and his father shared cake.

Cine turned 23 years old at the hospital. And he had a request from the team to download the Zoom app on his phone so he could join a team meeting in Eagan. Awaiting was a surprise "Happy Birthday" chorus from his teammates.

The next day brought the biggest surprise for Andre Cine, who in the early 2000s emigrated with his 4-year-old son from Haiti to Florida. His son was told by the doctor to get onto his feet and take his first steps with his arms holding him up.

"I didn't expect that," Andre Cine said. "When I saw him walk after two days, I said, "Oh, God bless.' He had the worst pain."

Cine eventually lost at least 20 pounds due to a lack of eating and exercise. He's now back up to 210 pounds, slightly above his listed weight last year.

"I was probably the thinnest I've ever been," Cine said. "I didn't have an appetite. But gradually over time, my weight started to go up. The more I moved my feet, my weight was getting steadier."

Cine appeared in all 39 games at Georgia and played roles in three state titles in high schools from Boston to Dallas. He'd earned the nickname "Wolverine" at Everett High School (Ma.), according to former assistant coach and mentor Carlos Ruiz, referring to the X-Men character whose wounds quickly heal.

But Cine suddenly had downtime last fall, and he wanted to grow on and off the field. He found solace in reading, watching anime shows, spending time with his 6-year-old daughter, Bella, at the trampoline park (he watched) and rethinking priorities.

"Cherish the moment," he said. "Before the injury, I was too future-oriented — the result, the result, the goal, the goal — and I missed out on little moments, on going out with teammates.

"I'm really trying to cherish all that because it could've been over like that," he said snapping his fingers, "and I never see a football field ever again."

Cine has also brought a more mindful approach to work. Multiple coaches referenced a commitment to staying late and being a more active participant.

"Accountability," said Jones, the defensive backs coach. "He was coming from a [Georgia] program where they had a lot of success. … The accountability had to be there. He learned that as a rookie, and I think coming back this year you see that. The adversity he went through helped him mature faster."

Cine's comeback may be framed as a rookie redo, but he's on a different approach.

"I don't know why last year I stayed mute and never really asked questions," Cine said, "but I'm more comfortable asking questions now, coming back, doing extra meetings and making sure I understand stuff."

Teammates took notice this spring.

"The more you get into it and you start to figure out how the league goes, you start to figure out your spot," safety Josh Metellus said. "He's starting to figure out where he fits in. It's great for him, because when you come out of your shell — great things happen."

How Cine fits into coordinator Brian Flores' defense remains to be seen.

Metellus, and starting safeties Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum, are among the most established in a retooled secondary. Cine was injured on his 34th special teams snap last year, when he saw just two snaps as a backup defender over two-plus games.

But what separates Cine, the leading tackler for the 2021 national champion Bulldogs, is obvious when he's on the field.

"Speed," Jones said. "When he sees it, he goes. He put his speed on tape. So, the more we can put him in situations where he can let that speed show, because it is different — it shows."

Cine likes that Flores' defense isn't "cookie cutter." Defensive backs and linebackers have talked up the density and versatility of the playbook. Players are taught how to align, read and cover from various positions, meaning a starter needs to be comfortable in multiple spots.

During Cine's first reps back on the field this spring, he mostly stayed back at free and strong safety. Smith and Bynum started, while Metellus got more first-team reps in slot defender and linebacker-area duties. Coaches narrowed Cine's focus early.

Cine said he's focused on the playbook as well as embracing a better diet and recovery routine.

"I know myself," he said. "I know what I can do. I know the things I can accomplish as long as I'm healthy. I'm making treatment and recovery, all that, priority number one."

He wants to cherish as many on-field moments as possible. Cine said he's also still staring down a dream he's had since he was a kid searching for online highlights of hard-hitting safeties.

"Selfishly, I want to be the best," Cine said. "I'm chasing guys like Ed Reed, chasing guys like Sean Taylor, chasing the greats of the game, you know? It's a very big leap to say it, but those are my goals. Those are the guys I'm chasing."