Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt underwent core surgery Monday, Zac Taylor said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby, on Twitter). The second-rounder has been out for more than a week and will miss at least the rest of the team’s preseason practices.
This essentially locks Eli Apple into a starting job, Jay Morrison of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Taylor-Britt making a later bid at taking over with Cincinnati’s first-stringers cannot be ruled out, but to begin the season, it will be Apple back as a full-timer alongside Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton.
Apple re-signed with the Bengals on a one-year deal worth $3.5M, though that pact came with only $1M guaranteed at signing. Pro Football Focus rated the former top-10 pick as a midlevel corner during the regular season, one that saw him keep Trae Waynes out of the team’s defensive picture for the stretch run. The Bengals cut Waynes this offseason. Although the Rams picked on Apple at key points during Super Bowl LVI, he bounced back after a lost 2020 season — a two-game Panthers slate.
Cincinnati drafted Daxton Hill in the first round; the Michigan product is seeing more time due to Jessie Bates‘ absence. The Bengals should be expected to have their franchise-tagged safety, whom they are unlikely to trade, back by Week 1. The team traded up three spots for Taylor-Britt in Round 2, moving to No. 60 for the Nebraska defender. With Apple’s deal expiring after the 2022 season, it would seem there is a clear path for the Big Ten product to move into the Bengals’ starting lineup long-term. That ascent is on hold for the time being.
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