LOOK: Eli Apple rips on Saints, Giants fans following playoff win
Bengals cornerback Eli Apple shared jabs with Giants and Saints fans on Twitter after his team’s playoff win that sent them to the AFC Championship. The former first-round draft pick began his career with the Giants and then the Saints, before arriving in Cincinnati this season.
Eli Apple on Saints and Giants fans
Apple and his Bengals teammates have been riding high this postseason as they have impressed by making their first conference championship in over three decades. On Sunday night, Apple had a bit of free time to interact with fans and enemies alike on Twitter.
Apple was drafted by the Giants with the `10th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. In 2017, the Giants would suspend Apple for “conduct detrimental to the team” and eventually traded Apple to the Saints. After a season and a half with New Orleans, the Saints chose not to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal and parted ways with him.
From there, Saints and Giants fans alike chimed in with criticisms about Apple, prompting more responses from their former cornerback attacking New Orleans specifically. It was apparent that the way he left New York and New Orleans both did not leave a good impact on his opinion of the fan base.
While he has found success with the Bengals this year, critics of Apple point out that they are his fourth team in six seasons. Fans and Apple continued to argue online as Apple mocked anyone who got in the line of fire, while fans shared old team nicknames like “The Abominable Toast Man” in regards to him being “burnt” on defense.
In 2020, Apple signed with the Carolina Panthers but only appeared in two games all season. This year, Apple has found a spot on a successful team making a deep playoff push. With two interceptions and 49 tackles during the regular season, Apple has found a role to play on a Cincinnati defense that has held two playoff opponents to under 20 points this postseason.