Breaking: Kevin O’Connell ‘reveals’ 24-year old safety and 23-year old CB will depart Vikings roster

January 26, 2022, a day many Minnesota Vikings fans will remember. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired by the Minnesota Vikings as their next General Manager. Shortly after, he helped a head coach hiring process that landed the Vikings Kevin O’Connell.

In his Sunday column, Pioneer Press columnist Charley Walters had some interesting nuggets regarding what he’s hearing behind the scenes, regarding the first and second round draft picks from 2022, Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr.

Don’t expect Lewis Cine or Andrew Booth Jr to make Minnesota Vikings roster

According to Walters, former first-round safety Lewis Cine is “untradeable” given the $4 million still guaranteed in his rookie contract, which still has two seasons left on it. Charley, a former Minnesota Twin and longtime Sid Hartman scoops competitor, notes bluntly: “It’s likely [Cine will] get waived in training camp”.

First-Round Safety Lewis Cine

O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah immediately start building their respective staffs and populating draft boards for the 2022 NFL Draft. Two years removed from that offseason, their vision is fully coming into focus… no thanks to that first draft class.

This may or may not be a shock to some. Cine was Adofo-Mensah’s very first pick as an NFL general manager, so making a move to cut him with two years left on his 1st contract would be a tough pill to swallow.

Cine’s season in 2022 was cut short after a horrific compound fracture injury to his lower left leg during a special teams play in week 4, but he was never really in the race to start that season, even before his injury, which happened as a gunner in punt coverage.

Cine battled back from the injury in 2023 but rarely saw the field on defense, logging only 8 snaps all season and which ended with him at the very bottom of the safety depth chart. His slow NFL start may be blamed on his injury but word around TCO Performance Center must not be very positive right now.

Whether he officially is waived in training camp remains to be seen, but according to Walters, Lewis Cine’s time in Minnesota is coming to an end. And if the Vikings can’t trade him… you read between the lines.

Second-Round Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr.

Not only is Lewis Cine in the “hot seat” to potentially not make the roster, but former 2022 second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr. joins the club as potentially being done as a Viking.

In the same article, Walters also notes Booth Jr. as a candidate that “seems close to being done as a Viking”. Booth Jr. also hasn’t done much in his two seasons in Minnesota. During his 2022 season, he posted a horrific 41.7 coverage Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade which eventually gets him benched. He finishes the 2022 season having only played 105 total snaps.

Last season was a bit better, but he still showed to much inconsistency to be considered a starter in the NFL. He eventually was replaced by 2023 third-round cornerback Mekhi Blackmon.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s 2022 Draft Class

Overall, Adofo-Mensah’s 2022 draft class has been very underwhelming. So underwhelming that it likely has set this team back a year or two given that it only has produced one starting player (Ed Ingram).

If Cine and Booth are cut during training camp this year, that would leave only Ed Ingram, Brian Asamoah, Akayleb Evans, Ty Chandler, Jalen Nailor, and Nick Muse as the only players from that draft class still on the roster. You could even argue that Asamoah, Evans, and Nailor could be on the hot seat as well this year.

We’ll see how the dust settles this offseason, but according to Charley Walters… don’t expect to see Lewis Cine or Andrew Booth Jr. on the 53-man roster.