When the New York Giants selected rookie cornerback Eli Apple with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 Draft, they had hoped to team him with Landon Collins and Janoris Jenkins in the secondary for years to come.
But a year later, the former standout Ohio State cornerback has never fully translated his game to the pros and has been up and down all year long.
He’s also created a strong rift in the Giants locker room that has led teammate Landon Collins to call the 2016 first-round pick a cancer during a radio interview Tuesday with Bob Wischusen of ESPN:
Audio of Landon Collins calling Eli Apple “a cancer”
— NFL News (@NFLFBGAMETIME) December 27, 2017
The rift between Collins and Apple first began when Collins recently told reporters that he went out of his way to encourage Apple and help him through his struggling season. This was denied when Apple told reporters, “I talked to Brandon Marshall, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie — DRC is always a god person to talk to because he kind of went through the same thing when he was around my age.”
When he was asked if Collins was one to reach him to him, Apple replied: “Landon, no.”
This didn’t sit well with Collins, who also took issue with Apple retweeting a video of Cowboys RB Rod Smith running all over the Giants defense during the team’s Week 14 loss:
I get Rod Smith was a Buckeye but what are you doing here Eli Apple pic.twitter.com/3Wo40ZFZim
— BAC (@BACDesigns) December 10, 2017
Following the retweet by Apple and denial of Collins’ help, the Giants safety took to Twitter as well to send this cryptic message to his teammate:
Tweet about that and watch what happens💯
— LANDON COLLINS (@TheHumble_21) December 14, 2017
The New York Giants are 2-13 and thankfully their miserable season will come to and end on Sunday. They are in the midst of a search for a new general manager and head coach.
Come this Spring, you can expect the Giants to be shopping around Apple, who clearly will be the odd man out of this situation.
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