Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Eli Apple takes a shot at Jalen Hurts
Current Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Eli Apple went on a bit of a Twitter rant on Sunday. He spent most of his day debating which fanbases he despised more, the New Orleans Saints or the New York Giants.
Apple played for both, getting drafted to the Giants in 2016. They traded him down to the Big Easy just over two years later, where the cornerback played in 20 games for the Saints.
Somehow in all of this, current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts caught a ricochet shot from Apple.
A Saints fan provided a screenshot of a tweet from wide receiver DeVonta Smith from 2018, where the current Eagles player said he “shakes” when he sees Apple in one on one coverage. The cornerback responded by saying Smith is just mad because of who his quarterback is.
“Lmao Jalen hurts his Qb he big mad still shaking his head,” Apple said via Twitter.
Smith, who is a native of Louisiana, was presumably watching the Saints’ Dec. 23 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although New Orleans was able to pick up a 31-28 win, it was a rough day for the secondary. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns, while both Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster had over 100 receiving yards.
As for the shot at Hurts, he and Smith broke records for the Eagles this season, having the most receiving yards by a rookie in franchise history (916). The two go back to their days in Tuscaloosa, being on the 2017 national championship team.
Philadelphia ranked No. 25 in passing yards this season and had the fewest passing attempts in the league. Running the ball really became the mantra for head coach Nick Sirianni as the season progressed.
Even so, general manager Howie Roseman doubled down on Hurts being the franchise quarterback going forward.
“Jalen, and the growth he had as really a first-year starter, second-year player — leading this team to the playoffs,” stated Roseman. “Tremendously impressed by his work ethic, his leadership.
“The last time we talked was during camp, and we said we wanted to see him take the bull by the horns. And he certainly did that.”
“Jalen knows he is our guy — Jalen knows he is our quarterback,” stated Sirianni via John Clark of NBC Philadelphia. “Jalen knows where he stands with us.”
As for Apple, he may have the last laugh and the end of the day. The Bengals are playing in the AFC Championship on Sunday, having a chance to make the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988. The cornerback has been a key starter all season and will have his hands full with the Chiefs’ elite receiving core.