Eli Apple An Option?
March 12th, 2023
Free agent CB Eli Apple.
As regular readers know, there is a split decision at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters.
“This Joe” thinks it is imperative to find a way to keep Jamel Dean. “This Joe” simply does not believe you let one of the better young corners in the game walk out the door as he’s hitting the peak of his career. It’s just not smart team-building.
(Per NextGen Stats, Dean allowed the sixth-fewest passing yards (386) based on a minimum of 60 targets as the next-closest defender. Why is it a good thing to let him walk exactly?)
And unless the Bucs find an edge rusher, losing Dean is basically a step back into the Mike Smith nightmare when you have no pass rush and receivers running wide-arse open like deer in an Illinois cornfield. Fun times, weren’t they?
It seems Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders thinks if the Bucs let Dean walk, they’re going to have to find a replacement. So in an article citing who Schatz believes each team should sign in free agency, Schatz thinks mouthy, toasty Eli Apple would fit with the Bucs.
Suggesting a free agent for the Buccaneers is very difficult. The Bucs have a ton of free agents likely to leave their defense, and they’re in terrible cap shape, which should prevent giving out big contracts to new arrivals. Nonetheless, there should be some affordable veterans in the secondary, where the Buccaneers may lose cornerbacks Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting along with safeties Mike Edwards and Logan Ryan.
Apple made only $3.5 million per year on his last contract and isn’t going to break the bank in free agency this year either, but at 28, he should still have a couple of prime years left and his coverage success rate of 56% was a reasonable 37th among qualifying cornerbacks last season.
Apple seems to get a bite taken out of him once a game. If this guy was anywhere close to being as good as his mouth or his fingers on social media, he would be an All-Pro.
Apple is cheap for a reason. You get what you pay for. Rather than spend cash on Apple, Joe would rather the Bucs ride or die with Sean Murphy-Bunting. SMB is a little too inconsistent for Joe’s liking but at least he has more upside than Apple.
March 12th, 2023 at 12:11 am
Only if Vernon Hargreaves is unavailable…
March 12th, 2023 at 12:30 am
SMB>>>El Apple
March 12th, 2023 at 12:58 am
“This Joe” obviously thinks cap manipulation is magic and has no consequences. He also hasn’t looked very closely at the remaining options for creating cap space in 2023. There’s not a lot of wiggle room. Dean is not worth the money he’ll get paid.
March 12th, 2023 at 1:01 am
You definitely stick with SMB over Apple.
March 12th, 2023 at 1:56 am
No thanks. Maybe bring in Byron Jones for a workout to see how healthy he is.
March 12th, 2023 at 6:22 am
Eli Apple is bruised and mealy
March 12th, 2023 at 6:52 am
Sasquatch … ‘Dean is not worth the money he’ll get paid.’
Gotta disagree with that one Sasquatch. Jamel Dean IS worth the money that he’ll command; Bucs just can’t afford to pay it. Too many other pressing NEEDS.
Totally agree though with your following comment that ‘You definitely stick with SMB over Apple’. SMB’s coming along, and it’d be a shame to not re-sign him given that he knows this defensive system pretty well after 4 years with Bowles.
March 12th, 2023 at 7:32 am
NOPE
March 12th, 2023 at 8:15 am
Apple’s a head case.
March 12th, 2023 at 8:35 am
Dean will be back. It doesn’t matter what Bowles thinks of him, because he could be gone next season
March 12th, 2023 at 8:55 am
Sean has been in our defensive system a few years. That is better than bringing in someone like Apple. Every time I have seen him covering receivers with the Giants or Bengals he is giving up large chunks of real estate. No thanks Joe.
March 12th, 2023 at 8:59 am
Joe – why do you panic so much? You stick to one opinion such as keeping dean and go on and on about it. Teams change e every year and things change. Then you seem to think others are dumb if they disagree with you yet the other joe thinks it’s ok to let him walk. Just chill. Teams have players come and go all the time yet teams switch standings all the time. It’s the nfl, not pre determined script like you may think.
March 12th, 2023 at 9:12 am
Eli Apple would be a pretty solid replacement for Dean…
The price is right and he has only missed 3 games the past two seasons.
The Bucs should still draft a CB with their 1st or 2nd pick.
March 12th, 2023 at 11:51 am
Wasn’t Apple the the CB selected just after Vern Hargreaves? He’s not all-pro but, at least Apple is still playing. Draft 2016= useless!
March 12th, 2023 at 12:37 pm
Eli Apple was clearly the weakest link in Cincinnati. I’d rather take a chance with a rookie than someone you can count on getting scorched. Big pass on Apple.
March 12th, 2023 at 2:26 pm
One bad Apple can ruin the whole bunch.
March 12th, 2023 at 8:39 pm
Apple has had a strange career. He sure seems to get burned a lot, but he sure seems to be in the playoffs a lot, too.
There are lots of promising CBs in the draft. Dean, like Bunting, has been injured then healthy, hot then cold. He had a great year last year but I wouldn’t be that confident that he’ll be a consistent top shutdown guy. He is big and tore up his knee pretty good in college.
March 12th, 2023 at 9:36 pm
Joes,
You know what they say about “An Apple a day…..”