NEW ORLEANS – They were post-practice constants in the Buffalo Bills locker room throughout this season, heads buried in their tablets.
Nicholas Morrow, his career on the cusp of 100 games, signed March 13 to provide linebacker depth. Lewis Cine, his career consisting of 10 games, signed Aug. 30 after the Minnesota Vikings waived him.
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Morrow occupied the stall next to tight end Quintin Morris, and a few steps down, Cine was next to left tackle Dion Dawkins. Morrow provided perspective on opposing offenses, and Cine detailed the Bills’ decision to move him from safety to linebacker.
Mostly, Morrow and Cine blended into the Bills’ ecosystem. Under the radar. Kind of like Monday night inside the Superdome during the Philadelphia Eagles’ portion of Super Bowl opening night.
Amid the mass of humanity (think stuffed subway car in the middle of the summer and the train isn’t moving), I found Morrow and Cine decked out in their white Eagles sweatsuits. Both had big smiles for the familiar face from Buffalo.
What a month for Morrow and Cine.
Morrow was waived by the Bills on Jan. 2 and signed with Philadelphia’s practice squad Jan. 14. He played against the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Commanders in the playoffs.
“It’s been crazy,” he said. “I don’t really have words to describe what’s happened to me over the last month, but I’m blessed to be here.”
Cine was signed off the Bills’ practice squad to Philadelphia’s active roster Jan. 8. He has been inactive during the playoffs.
“Wow, a lot of emotions,” he said.
Linebacker Nicholas Morrow was cut twice by the Buffalo Bills late in the regular season before signing with the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad.
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Let’s start with Morrow, whose separation from the Bills was clunky, at best. He was waived by the Bills for the first time Dec. 7. He talked to other NFL teams and was fixing for a trip to Green Bay when the Bills called back, and he re-signed Dec. 23.
Ahead of the regular-season finale at New England, Morrow practiced on a Thursday and was released afterward. He had no interest in joining the Bills’ practice squad.
“Obviously, being released before the game I was supposed to play defense (in), that was tough,” he said. “I just thought, ‘We couldn’t have talked about this in the morning before I practiced?’ I wouldn’t say it rubbed me the wrong way, but it told me (Buffalo) wasn’t the place for me right now to go back to. They had the opinions and feelings, and I had mine as far as how I could contribute, and those things didn’t marry up.”
Hard feelings toward the Bills?
“I can’t say that,” said Morrow, ever the pro. “No one has done me wrong. It’s just a part of the business of this game.”
Morrow, 29, is back with the Eagles after starting 12 games for Philadelphia in 2023, when he had 95 tackles. Some of his teammates are the same, making the transition seamless.
The Buffalo Bills moved Lewis Cine from safety to linebacker during the season, but he is back at safety for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cine’s Buffalo-to-Philadelphia situation was different. A 2022 first-round pick by the Vikings, he arrived in Buffalo looking to rebuild his career after a serious broken leg ended his rookie year and he couldn’t find a role in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ system.
The Bills made an early call to have the 6-foot-2, 199-pound Cine work at linebacker. At the time, I liked the decision – the 16-man practice squad allows for experimentation, so why not throw a dart at the board and see if Cine’s physicality transfers to a new position?
Cine learned something new every week. How the offensive linemen pulled for run-game blocks. How to get off those blocks. How to better read an offense’s pre-snap tells. It would have been interesting to watch Cine at linebacker in August when the pads go on in training camp.
But then the Eagles called. Going from the practice squad to another team’s active roster is a no-brainer.
“A lot of things were going through my mind, but at some point, you have to make certain decisions that will impact your career, and this was probably one of those decisions,” Cine said.
Did the Bills offer to move him up to the active roster to keep him?
“That was a very, very good conversation that I probably don’t want to expose out of respect for (the Bills),” Cine said. “Some talks were had.”
Reading between Cine’s words, the guess is some talks were had, but no promises made about moving him up.
The Eagles moved Cine back to safety. After the Eagles’ NFC championship game win over Washington on Jan. 26, Cine said he was rooting for the Bills to beat Kansas City.
“I was really hoping it was us against them,” Cine said. “It would have been a great reunion.”
Instead, an Eagles win over Kansas City on Sunday night would represent a happy return to Philadelphia for Morrow and a happy arrival for Cine.
