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Eli Apple joined the Saints of New Orleans less than a year after being termed "cancer" by his teammate Landon Collins, who said in a radio interview that he was hoping to see the corner half shipped out of town.
A few months later, the two men claimed to have settled their differences. Collins was proposing excuses the next day and Giants first year coach Pat Shurmur talked about giving the quarterback a clean slate.
Now, seven games in what could be described as the rebound season for Apple, the New York Giants traded the No. 10 NFL Draft selection of 2016 to the Saints in exchange for a fourth round pick from of 2019 and a seventh round. from 2020.
"With what happened last year, I want to keep working on myself," Apple said in the spring, via NJ.com. "I want to communicate better and not let certain things happen to me. I want to continue to improve every day.
Part of what prompted Apple to move from rookie status in 2016 to a playoff-qualified Giants player by qualifying as inactive in five of the last seven games in 2017 was related to a quarrel with his father-in-law Tim. Apple, according to a report from NJ.com in December.
"One of the main reasons that Eli is in such a small dip this year compared to last year is (Tim's absence)," Apple's half-brother Dane Blackson told NJ Advance Media. "I know that everyone is always talking about celebrity and all the attention and how all of this can put you in mind.
"But you have to imagine that from college to NFL, Tim was present. Tim did all this thing happen. Tim did not miss any games. Whenever Eli was looking for this support, he was always there. Now, this year, every time he goes looking for support, it's not real, it's not authentic. "
Family conflicts at the base of the tumultuous season of CB Eli Apple of the giants
The Giants suspended Apple for the last game of the season because his team described this behavior as detrimental to the team. The suspension came after ESPN reported a fight with coaches who had him working in a scouting team.
The tumultuous season for Apple was also marked by a fine imposed by the team for tweeting in a game he played in December against the Dallas Cowboys. Listed as inactive, Apple was asked why he was not playing and he replied, "I am too healthy," in an answer that included the emoji of a man with his hands in the air.
By that time, the Giants had sacked their coach Ben McAdoo after the medal of a two-time Super Bowl winner and highly publicized banker Eli Manning.
Part of what prompted Collins to call Apple "cancer" came after Collins initially defended his teammate, claiming his problems were mostly "mental" and related to significant personal problems. Collins added that he had provided personal advice to the corner half. The next day, Apple spoke with reporters and denied having a conversation with Collins. NJ.com said that angry Collins, where he was confronted with Apple and had to be mastered by his teammates.
At one point, Apple almost left the team after what the New York Post said was "more forcefully criticized than any other player" when his head coach McAdoo called it "brutally honest" . During this session, Apple was interpellated for two games: first to have been stuck off the field and not work to return to the game, then not to fight to be bodied as a shooter.
A clean slate came with the arrival of Shurmur as a new coach.
"He was only professional," Shurmur said in the spring. "He's been competing here, it's one of the guys that has been here almost every day and I have not seen anything that anybody could have thought they heard He was great. "
In the spring and summer, Apple talked about maintaining a positive attitude and doing "all I can to improve myself as a player," he said.
"Now it only remains to be seamless and move forward," said Apple at that time.
He did enough to recover his starting position.
"I thought he had played a really solid match," Shurmur said after opening the season with a 20-15 loss to the Jaguars. The cornerback finished with three tackles and two defended passes. "He was competitive in the cover, played two or three times on the ball and it rained. It was a good opening match for him.
Apple played 100% of the shots in defense in three of the five matches in which he participated. He qualified early and missed two games due to a groin injury. He has played three games since returning from injury.
With the Giants now between 1 and 6 years old and moving into full rebuild mode, the team has chosen to trade against Apple with another full season still in its four-year rookie contract that could be extended for another season if the Saints won the fifth year. option until 2020.
With the Saints, he will join a defensive field consisting of former Ohio State teammates, Marshon Lattimore and Vonn Bell, all of whom played in the 2015 team. Saints Wideout Michael Thomas was also part of the Ohio State team.
Apple will take the place of cornerback against Lattimore, defensive rookie of 2017, in the rhythm of Ken Crawley and P.J. Williams after their incoherent start to the season.
"I think I can be a great Pro Bowl player," Apple said in the spring. "It's almost every day that I do business, that I am a great player every day and that we are consistent."
Eli Apple is not the savior, but something had to be done about the fragile defense of the Saints
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