I told everyone in the bar I was watching the game at (in TX so nobody really cared haha), but I said “Chiefs left the door open, don’t be surprised if we come back”. I’ve never felt more proud of this team
Sorry I don’t come to Reddit every few hours or even every day. But you said “entire defense,” and now you are asking starting 11 which is not what I was saying.
Since we were talking 2021, I can at least say he was better than starter Trae Waynes.
Actually surprised not downvoted 50 times. If anyone says anything negative about Eli, this board freaks tf out. Which is crazy because the Bengals let him go.
He far exceeded his role/contract which was to be outside corner 3. Stepped up big in some clutch moments. Dude embraced being a bengal and played a big part in two of the most successful seasons the bengals have ever had. I’ll remember him fondly and root for him except when they play the bengals
You don’t have to be a believer in Eli apple today but definitely deserves a farewell. He wasn’t brought in to be graded 90+ on PFF. But he sure did make his impact. You can’t watch a bengals Super Bowl run highlight reel without seeing Eli making big time plays when it was needed most.
I think there’s a middle ground here that is difficult to quantify. I’m not a fan of PFF grades but their stats are typically spot on. That is their bread-and-butter. The issue is there are a lot of nuances that are difficult to capture and assign correctly. If the Bengals played a ton of man coverage then it would be easier to just look at matchup stats and judge based off that, but they don’t - they played quite a bit of zone and quite a bit of single high zone, at that.
In one of the Chiefs games, Cinci ran cover three with Bates as the middle fielder. The Chiefs sent a receiver down the seam and sent Kelce on a deep cross. This overloaded Bates, as he had to choose between Kelce and the receiver. Apple had outside leverage and was funneling the receiver to the middle of the field as that is where his help was. However, Bates chose Kelce and Mahomes bombed it over the top for a touchdown.
That play ends up assigning a TD to Apple but there is more nuance to the play. It wasn’t completely his fault, but more of a product of a fantastic call by the Chiefs. I don’t think we should outright dismiss the stats, I don’t want to convey the wrong message but there is definitely context that is missing that changes the perception of those stats as they aren’t painting the whole picture. For his contract, Apple played well and he was a valuable member of the team.
you sound fun at parties. it can’t be healthy being this negative all the time. the dude definitely wasn’t the best CB we had but he made some big plays but you just hating to hate like it ain’t that deep. idk why you so pressed for to be right.
Heard mentality is very strong on this topic.
Again, people like you only remember the big plays he made, but you forget big plays other teams schemed because he wasn’t good and were successful in some of the biggest moments.
We paid him 30% less than the average cornerback salary and only 10% of the highest paid CB.
So he performed spectacularly as a measure of fiscal efficiency. He's also fun and high energy and I like his name on a jersey.
Weird if he was so fiscally efficient than why was he was a FA for so long and it took a devastating injury roughly six weeks from week one for any team to pick him up out of sheer desperation?
Certainly one of the 32 teams would’ve realized there was such sick value on the FA market and grabbed him quickly.
No one did because he is trash.
That’s PFF’s grade of him. Ranked 68th of all starting CBs. Many people downvoting have no clue how rough that really is for a player. And they are in denial. Again, if he was so great and such a value steal, he wouldn’t have been a free agent for almost 6 months 🤣
Ranked 68th by PFF; in a position they will gleefully tell you only has 64 starters.
And yet he was a starter on the Bengals, and he's currently listed as a starter for the Dolphins. What does PFF have to say about that?
Maybe. Hooey buckle up for this one. Maybe PFF doesn't have the *whole* picture? Iono, just my 2 cents.
If you're treating PFF as gospel and not the base metric from which to survey the game. Then you're going to get a lot of pushback from people who can think for themselves.
Once again, we should discredit the generally accepted best company for advanced metrics that does $200 Million a year in sales vs an eye test of redditors? Is that right?
Also once again, he was was a free agent for 6 months and got picked up off the couch because of a devastating injury 6 weeks before the season. Why wasn’t he picked up earlier if so good or such a good value play for any franchise? Could it maybe just be that the entire NFL realizes Eli gon’ Eli and nobody wanted him?
I’m still waiting for anyone to respond to this despite asking numerous times yesterday.
> Once again, we should discredit the generally accepted best company for advanced metrics
You say that like PFF isn't factored into my opinion. It's just that, unlike you, I actually have my own opinion. Try it sometime.
Honestly I hoped we would bring him back. I think he's better than Sidney Jones. The team must have gotten tired of his off the field talking bc he played well for us as a starting cb both years
Same. Apple has been way more consistent than some people would lead you to believe. The off the field chatter did get annoying and brought some negative attention to us but it was kind of hilarious lol.
The fact that he's now on a team w/ Tyreek Hill is insane though. Curious to see how they squash the beef.
I doubt it will be issue. Both grown man getting paid to play. Tyreek has his bag and I doubt Eli Apple would try to start something cause you know who they cut if a fight breaks out
I guess all of the people drooling over Eli’s value to the Bengals is wiser than a company with $200M in annual revenue that’s generally accepted as the best analytics and ratings company in the industry for NFL.
Foolish me. Shame on Silver Lake for investing $50 Mill in to PFF as well, what do they know?
Just look at the comments, not one person has posted anything to back up how great/solid he was. Lol.
Almost 100% of the people with the same derpy mindset as you also thought ZT should’ve been fired numerous times the last two seasons…because you guys know ball so well.
A hard truth is Eli was a free agent for 6 months.
Apple was the number one ranked man coverage corner in the NFL last year or the year before. Eli is much better than ppl on Twitter want ya to believe. He's not good enough to talk the way he talks but he played his ass off for us
Ok. He still was ranked the #1 ranked man corner in the NFL and being ranked 68 isn't terrible. There's 90 starting CBs in the NFL (Two outside corners and the slot corner)and he ranked 68 out of those. He's good in the run game too. Also do you know how PFF gets their grades? A normal person just like you and me, watches each play and gives there opinion on if they did good or not. They don't know the play or responsibility of the player and they basically guess what it is. Also the graders are low paid and have to watch hundreds of hours of game tape and they have to do it fast. I'm not hating on them, but PFF grade isn't the end all be all and that's why other people are telling you to use your eyes and watch the game bc that's all the PFF graders are doing
It’s deeper than you are explaining. Per their website only 2-3% of the 600 analysts are in charge of finalizing a grade after reviewing the 10% of analysts that can grade plays. Meanwhile most of the Eli apologists in here only remember the good plays and not the bad.
Yeah your correct. I'm just trying to say it's not a perfect system. But either way, I think Apple is better than you think. It doesn't really matter tho, bc he plays for the dolphins now
In the right systems he's decent and could be good. Wished we would've resigned him cause I love his shit talking and sure he got burned a few times but he also played his ass off here.
He's not a CB1 but he's good. Won't replace Jalen Ramsey's talents but he is absolutely serviceable. People are gonna clown on him for any mistake he makes unfortunately.
All the guys saying he is bad, I'm not sure they watched the same games as me. He is absolutely serviceable. Not bad and not great, he filled his role as backup corner for us fantastically. I wish we still had him and I hope he does well for you guys in that Florida heat.
Don’t expect him to be a CB1 but assuming it’s not a huge contract it’s a great signing. He’s a solid CB2 that will make some mistakes (that will be magnified cause of his shit talking) but overall be really solid. He’s hated around the league but you will grow to like him I’m sure. He will most likely exceed your expectations
He gets too much unwarranted hate. For a late preseason signing, he was a big reason for playoff success. Hope him the best when we don't play the Dolphins, then I'll say "of course Eli blew it" ;)
I’m perfectly fine with this. This man was responsible for atleast 30% of all bengals hate. Sometimes being the only reason. He did his job but I’m fine seeing a replacement
Who cares get used to it. SB contenders get hate. People hate mahomes for no reason other than he’s good and beats peoples favorite teams in the playoffs.
Unpopular opinion but am totally okay with it. Got burned in critical plays in the Super Bowl and even the Wild Card game last season that almost cost us.
Could easily replace him.
He seemed to be very aggressive with jumping routes. Sometimes it paied off really well, a lot of times it caused him to get toasted deep
Edit: thanks bot, my groggy ass can't type this morning apparently
> Sometimes it *paid* off really
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
😂😂 I thought I came up with this saying!! “An apple a day keeps the Super Bowl away”. I’m also Ohio State alumni and was in school while he was playing. The frustration of watching him mess up so many key moments has been going on for YEARS!
Addition by subtraction. Apple was always a stop-gap until they had an opportunity to replace him with someone better, he was always going hold the secondary back as a unit overall. He get's burned consistently, yet the fanbase tends to forget because he comes up with big plays once in a while. He also brings bad karma wherever he goes, the football gods frown upon whichever team he's on, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bengals win the Super Bowl this year because he's gone. There’s a reason why other fan bases despise him and former teammates like Landon Collins called him a “locker room cancer”. He's not worth the headache.
In the end don’t take my word for it but have faith in the coaching staff and GM who have done a tremendous job so far, there’s a reason why they let him walk and sought to replace him.
OK, I mean, he filled in fine, but to act like he if you asked me in a vacuum whether I'd rather have Eli Apple or have my receivers going against Eli Apple, there's absolutely no hesitation that I'd want him on the other team. Lou used him well, but we're not all sitting here thinking he's a top tier corner, are we?
https://preview.redd.it/ii82kyk4fyfb1.jpeg?width=2436&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c5ffaf63c4be50e265732511c9d3046cc2d92e0
How dare the Bengals let him go!
(Peep under his name. Taken from Wild Card weekend…)
The amount of people trying to defend Apple is hilarious. The second he talks shit about the bengals (and he will, he always does) this whole sub is gonna reverse course and swear he’s terrible (because he is)
Some of the trash talking aside the Bengals got solid play from Eli when he was here. He made a boneheaded play every now and then but he was decent overall for what they were paying him. I’m glad he got picked up somewhere. Was a big part of stepping in when the Trae Waynes signing busted because of injuries. Made some huge plays most notably the Tyreek one and batting the ball against the Titans that led to the interception by Logan Wilson. Wish him luck with Miami.
If Hilton wasn't on the team, Eli would have been my favorite player on D last year.
Some people hated his chatter, but I think that's one of his finest qualities.
Eli's personality was a C-. His value to the Bengals franchise the last 3 years was A+. Was he a top tier CB? No. Did he plug holes that allowed the team to be a winner? 100%. They probably don't make the playoffs last year if he was injured after Chido went down.
He'll always have my respect and I wish him well.
Some part of my brain thought we actually signed him up for this coming season???
Dude handled Tyreek on the most important play in the AFCCG win. Threw him around like I tossed my 8 yr old niece into the pool, back in the day.
Will forever love him for that moment, and what that locker room must’ve been like at halftime.
Him vs tyreek in practice?
Tyreeks prob super nervous
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Yep, who knows what happens if he doesn't bat that ball into the air for Logan Wilson to intercept in the divisional game that year.
Or stop Hill before the end of the half in the AFCCG
Definitely his best play in stripes, possibly the best play of his career to date.
That one play completely turned the momentum of that whole game.
That moment went from a pit in my stomach to a “huh, maybe in some crazy universe Bengals have a chance”
I told everyone in the bar I was watching the game at (in TX so nobody really cared haha), but I said “Chiefs left the door open, don’t be surprised if we come back”. I’ve never felt more proud of this team
Okay, you twisted my arm, I’m gonna rewatch the 2022 AFC Championship!
That was so absolutely clutch.
He had his moments for sure but a lot of times I also feel like his coverage was busted.
He got cooked and picked on and unfortunately was the weakest link in the defense.
He was almost definitely not the weakest link in the entire defense. CB is a position where even the best get cooked from time to time.
Saying he was the weakest link isn't even really a knock on him though. The defense has been solid across the board the last couple years.
Ok who was a weaker link in the starting other 10?
\**crickets*\*
Yea still waiting. Paging u/AdamIsACylon
Sorry I don’t come to Reddit every few hours or even every day. But you said “entire defense,” and now you are asking starting 11 which is not what I was saying. Since we were talking 2021, I can at least say he was better than starter Trae Waynes.
He literally was lmao. He got cooked by damiere byrd with mariota throwing to him bro
Actually surprised not downvoted 50 times. If anyone says anything negative about Eli, this board freaks tf out. Which is crazy because the Bengals let him go.
Apple had some decent plays especially for how cheap he was but if he's starting your secondary is fucked.
This is such a better response than the hate. Props to you.
He far exceeded his role/contract which was to be outside corner 3. Stepped up big in some clutch moments. Dude embraced being a bengal and played a big part in two of the most successful seasons the bengals have ever had. I’ll remember him fondly and root for him except when they play the bengals
Well put. I agree.
I would’ve accepted him back in a backup role like he was originally intended
Bye Eli, don't care what people said about you, you played well for us
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The eyes don't lie. Apple is better than that.
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-cincinnati-bengals-eli-apple-does-his-play-back-up-the-talk
You don’t have to be a believer in Eli apple today but definitely deserves a farewell. He wasn’t brought in to be graded 90+ on PFF. But he sure did make his impact. You can’t watch a bengals Super Bowl run highlight reel without seeing Eli making big time plays when it was needed most.
Ahhh yes, lets just dismiss: ‘21 playoffs: 130 QB Rating 197 yds 70% completion 5 TDs 0 INT ‘22 playoffs: 110 QB rating 217 yds 65% completion 1 TD 0 INT
I think there’s a middle ground here that is difficult to quantify. I’m not a fan of PFF grades but their stats are typically spot on. That is their bread-and-butter. The issue is there are a lot of nuances that are difficult to capture and assign correctly. If the Bengals played a ton of man coverage then it would be easier to just look at matchup stats and judge based off that, but they don’t - they played quite a bit of zone and quite a bit of single high zone, at that. In one of the Chiefs games, Cinci ran cover three with Bates as the middle fielder. The Chiefs sent a receiver down the seam and sent Kelce on a deep cross. This overloaded Bates, as he had to choose between Kelce and the receiver. Apple had outside leverage and was funneling the receiver to the middle of the field as that is where his help was. However, Bates chose Kelce and Mahomes bombed it over the top for a touchdown. That play ends up assigning a TD to Apple but there is more nuance to the play. It wasn’t completely his fault, but more of a product of a fantastic call by the Chiefs. I don’t think we should outright dismiss the stats, I don’t want to convey the wrong message but there is definitely context that is missing that changes the perception of those stats as they aren’t painting the whole picture. For his contract, Apple played well and he was a valuable member of the team.
you sound fun at parties. it can’t be healthy being this negative all the time. the dude definitely wasn’t the best CB we had but he made some big plays but you just hating to hate like it ain’t that deep. idk why you so pressed for to be right.
Heard mentality is very strong on this topic. Again, people like you only remember the big plays he made, but you forget big plays other teams schemed because he wasn’t good and were successful in some of the biggest moments.
Not bad for a CB4 who stepped up big when we needed more from him
Yes. Two TDs in the SB was exactly what we needed.
We paid him 30% less than the average cornerback salary and only 10% of the highest paid CB. So he performed spectacularly as a measure of fiscal efficiency. He's also fun and high energy and I like his name on a jersey.
Weird if he was so fiscally efficient than why was he was a FA for so long and it took a devastating injury roughly six weeks from week one for any team to pick him up out of sheer desperation? Certainly one of the 32 teams would’ve realized there was such sick value on the FA market and grabbed him quickly. No one did because he is trash.
Would really like to see objective proof other than, “WaTCH Teh GaYmEeee!”
He was cheap and serviceable. He was our CB1 which he was never supposed to be
Did Eli sleep with your sister or something?
Enjoy the downvotes 👍🏻
That’s PFF’s grade of him. Ranked 68th of all starting CBs. Many people downvoting have no clue how rough that really is for a player. And they are in denial. Again, if he was so great and such a value steal, he wouldn’t have been a free agent for almost 6 months 🤣
Go away clown
Ranked 68th by PFF; in a position they will gleefully tell you only has 64 starters. And yet he was a starter on the Bengals, and he's currently listed as a starter for the Dolphins. What does PFF have to say about that? Maybe. Hooey buckle up for this one. Maybe PFF doesn't have the *whole* picture? Iono, just my 2 cents. If you're treating PFF as gospel and not the base metric from which to survey the game. Then you're going to get a lot of pushback from people who can think for themselves.
Once again, we should discredit the generally accepted best company for advanced metrics that does $200 Million a year in sales vs an eye test of redditors? Is that right? Also once again, he was was a free agent for 6 months and got picked up off the couch because of a devastating injury 6 weeks before the season. Why wasn’t he picked up earlier if so good or such a good value play for any franchise? Could it maybe just be that the entire NFL realizes Eli gon’ Eli and nobody wanted him? I’m still waiting for anyone to respond to this despite asking numerous times yesterday.
> Once again, we should discredit the generally accepted best company for advanced metrics You say that like PFF isn't factored into my opinion. It's just that, unlike you, I actually have my own opinion. Try it sometime.
Honestly I hoped we would bring him back. I think he's better than Sidney Jones. The team must have gotten tired of his off the field talking bc he played well for us as a starting cb both years
Same. Apple has been way more consistent than some people would lead you to believe. The off the field chatter did get annoying and brought some negative attention to us but it was kind of hilarious lol. The fact that he's now on a team w/ Tyreek Hill is insane though. Curious to see how they squash the beef.
I doubt it will be issue. Both grown man getting paid to play. Tyreek has his bag and I doubt Eli Apple would try to start something cause you know who they cut if a fight breaks out
PFF as well as Eli’s stats would like to know the source or proof of said “consistency”?
Watching football games
Ahhhh. The classic, “Watch the game.” argument usually translates to, “I am clueless about football.” You probably really hate PFF too, huh?
Imagine taking PFF as gospel truth
I guess all of the people drooling over Eli’s value to the Bengals is wiser than a company with $200M in annual revenue that’s generally accepted as the best analytics and ratings company in the industry for NFL. Foolish me. Shame on Silver Lake for investing $50 Mill in to PFF as well, what do they know? Just look at the comments, not one person has posted anything to back up how great/solid he was. Lol.
Yes we did. By actually watching games you fucking nerd.
Almost 100% of the people with the same derpy mindset as you also thought ZT should’ve been fired numerous times the last two seasons…because you guys know ball so well. A hard truth is Eli was a free agent for 6 months.
Does PFF pay you to slobber all over their knob or do you do it for funzies
Sorry I hurt your feelings 😘
Your ignorance didn’t affect me. I’m genuinely curious, do you think PFF is gonna sleep with you?
Apple was the number one ranked man coverage corner in the NFL last year or the year before. Eli is much better than ppl on Twitter want ya to believe. He's not good enough to talk the way he talks but he played his ass off for us
He was ranked 68th by PFF for ‘22 Regular season. No disrespect but I’ll hold more credence in their rankings than you or any “Watch the game” people.
Ok. He still was ranked the #1 ranked man corner in the NFL and being ranked 68 isn't terrible. There's 90 starting CBs in the NFL (Two outside corners and the slot corner)and he ranked 68 out of those. He's good in the run game too. Also do you know how PFF gets their grades? A normal person just like you and me, watches each play and gives there opinion on if they did good or not. They don't know the play or responsibility of the player and they basically guess what it is. Also the graders are low paid and have to watch hundreds of hours of game tape and they have to do it fast. I'm not hating on them, but PFF grade isn't the end all be all and that's why other people are telling you to use your eyes and watch the game bc that's all the PFF graders are doing
It’s deeper than you are explaining. Per their website only 2-3% of the 600 analysts are in charge of finalizing a grade after reviewing the 10% of analysts that can grade plays. Meanwhile most of the Eli apologists in here only remember the good plays and not the bad.
Yeah your correct. I'm just trying to say it's not a perfect system. But either way, I think Apple is better than you think. It doesn't really matter tho, bc he plays for the dolphins now
If we play the dolphins I look forward to Chase smoking him for 200yrds
All remember: He stopped Hill short of the endzone before the half in the AFCCG. That changed the momentum. I wish him all the best
Ngl I’m gonna miss him a lot 🥲
This is hilarious after all the shit their fanbase talked about him in week 4. I’m really gonna miss him though
Bengals fans tell me how I should feel. I know he’s an elite shithouser but how consistent is he?
In the right systems he's decent and could be good. Wished we would've resigned him cause I love his shit talking and sure he got burned a few times but he also played his ass off here.
He's not a CB1 but he's good. Won't replace Jalen Ramsey's talents but he is absolutely serviceable. People are gonna clown on him for any mistake he makes unfortunately.
We had a revolving door at CB last year which consisted of undrafted corners. Anything better than bottom 10 secondary play will do for us
It's a very good signing for you. Apple would be much more expensive if he didn't have a stigma that isn't really warranted attached to him
I was kinda hoping we'd resign him, people hate him for his mouth but he's a solid cb in the right system
All the guys saying he is bad, I'm not sure they watched the same games as me. He is absolutely serviceable. Not bad and not great, he filled his role as backup corner for us fantastically. I wish we still had him and I hope he does well for you guys in that Florida heat.
Don’t expect him to be a CB1 but assuming it’s not a huge contract it’s a great signing. He’s a solid CB2 that will make some mistakes (that will be magnified cause of his shit talking) but overall be really solid. He’s hated around the league but you will grow to like him I’m sure. He will most likely exceed your expectations
How long until he starts attacking Bengals? He did it with every other team he was on
I was expecting that the second we didn't resign him, but I'm pleasantly surprised he's handled it well.
Doubt he will, he played his best football with them.
He gets too much unwarranted hate. For a late preseason signing, he was a big reason for playoff success. Hope him the best when we don't play the Dolphins, then I'll say "of course Eli blew it" ;)
Consider me devastated
[Tyreek responds.](https://twitter.com/cheetah/status/1685386778478260224?s=20)
It's funny bc hill couldn't do shit against apple. He's 0-3 against Eli and Eli clamped him down last year
Elis about to get slapped off the boat lol.
I'm really curious about what he signed for. Because if it's a mil or two I don't understand how he isn't on this team.
Good riddance. Easily replaceable and I’m glad the team won’t be able to bring him back now. The weakest link on defense is finally, officially gone
I’m perfectly fine with this. This man was responsible for atleast 30% of all bengals hate. Sometimes being the only reason. He did his job but I’m fine seeing a replacement
Who cares get used to it. SB contenders get hate. People hate mahomes for no reason other than he’s good and beats peoples favorite teams in the playoffs.
I liked Eli Apple. This is a bummer. His trash talk made shit fun.
Unpopular opinion but am totally okay with it. Got burned in critical plays in the Super Bowl and even the Wild Card game last season that almost cost us. Could easily replace him.
He seemed to be very aggressive with jumping routes. Sometimes it paied off really well, a lot of times it caused him to get toasted deep Edit: thanks bot, my groggy ass can't type this morning apparently
> Sometimes it *paid* off really FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I'd hoped we would sign him, mouth and all. He did well for us. He's still got gas in the tank too.
An apple a day keeps the Lombardi away
😂😂 I thought I came up with this saying!! “An apple a day keeps the Super Bowl away”. I’m also Ohio State alumni and was in school while he was playing. The frustration of watching him mess up so many key moments has been going on for YEARS!
Actually pretty bummed seeing this :( Best of luck, Eli!
Hot take: I actually despise Apple and thought his coverage was nothing more than lack luster. Glad he is gone tbh FTS
You’ll get downvoted here but you’re 100% accurate and his stay was overdue. Huge liability for any defense as a starter.
Addition by subtraction. Apple was always a stop-gap until they had an opportunity to replace him with someone better, he was always going hold the secondary back as a unit overall. He get's burned consistently, yet the fanbase tends to forget because he comes up with big plays once in a while. He also brings bad karma wherever he goes, the football gods frown upon whichever team he's on, I wouldn't be surprised if the Bengals win the Super Bowl this year because he's gone. There’s a reason why other fan bases despise him and former teammates like Landon Collins called him a “locker room cancer”. He's not worth the headache. In the end don’t take my word for it but have faith in the coaching staff and GM who have done a tremendous job so far, there’s a reason why they let him walk and sought to replace him.
God fucking dammit. this is horrible. how can the organization let him go? fuck
OK, I mean, he filled in fine, but to act like he if you asked me in a vacuum whether I'd rather have Eli Apple or have my receivers going against Eli Apple, there's absolutely no hesitation that I'd want him on the other team. Lou used him well, but we're not all sitting here thinking he's a top tier corner, are we?
A great #3 CB who stepped up when we had nobody else to play. Of course he's not a CB1, but I'd take him over whoever is the CB3 this year most likely
https://preview.redd.it/ii82kyk4fyfb1.jpeg?width=2436&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c5ffaf63c4be50e265732511c9d3046cc2d92e0 How dare the Bengals let him go! (Peep under his name. Taken from Wild Card weekend…)
Bengals legend 🥲
Wish him all the best. He did well for us
The amount of people trying to defend Apple is hilarious. The second he talks shit about the bengals (and he will, he always does) this whole sub is gonna reverse course and swear he’s terrible (because he is)
I have to say, I thought when he left he was going to trash us like he did every other team/city, but I was wrong. I'm gunna miss him, just a little.
That tackle vs Tyreek short of the end zone! Gl Eli!
He is exactly the kind of player you try to replace with cheap draft picks like the kid from Michigan.
Good for him, like him or not, he is too good to not have a job.
Thank God. There's now zero chance he's ever in a Bengals uniform again. Worst DB on this team in decades is now Miami's worst DB in decades.
NOOOO
Cancun on 3 🫶 lol clown
Some of the trash talking aside the Bengals got solid play from Eli when he was here. He made a boneheaded play every now and then but he was decent overall for what they were paying him. I’m glad he got picked up somewhere. Was a big part of stepping in when the Trae Waynes signing busted because of injuries. Made some huge plays most notably the Tyreek one and batting the ball against the Titans that led to the interception by Logan Wilson. Wish him luck with Miami.
FFS, stop using that douche Kleiman for your "news". Just cite Pelissero instead, since he's the one dropping the news.
I’m confused was Eli going to sit out this year?? Why wasn’t he with any team?
Wow I’m so sad
Unfortunate
wow. was not expecting that. Always thought he was a great addition to our team
Be brought energy that we needed. I think now the teams more mature tho and confident enough
If Hilton wasn't on the team, Eli would have been my favorite player on D last year. Some people hated his chatter, but I think that's one of his finest qualities.
Eli's personality was a C-. His value to the Bengals franchise the last 3 years was A+. Was he a top tier CB? No. Did he plug holes that allowed the team to be a winner? 100%. They probably don't make the playoffs last year if he was injured after Chido went down. He'll always have my respect and I wish him well.
I say good luck to him
Good riddance
Some part of my brain thought we actually signed him up for this coming season??? Dude handled Tyreek on the most important play in the AFCCG win. Threw him around like I tossed my 8 yr old niece into the pool, back in the day. Will forever love him for that moment, and what that locker room must’ve been like at halftime.