Infamous NFL cornerback gets released

An infamous NFL defender now finds himself back in the free-agent pool.

The San Francisco 49ers announced on Thursday that they have released veteran cornerback Eli Apple. San Francisco is doing so in order to sign defensive lineman Michael Dwumfour to a one-year deal.

Still only 29 years old, Apple had only signed with the 49ers at the end of June. But now his time in San Francisco has come to an end just over a month later.

Apple was a first-round pick by New York Giants back in 2016 (No. 10 overall). While he had a couple of strong career seasons, Apple became notorious in the football world for his incessant trash talk, not much of which he was able to back up.

Over the course of his NFL career, Apple spouted off at countless star wide receivers, beefing with everyone from Stefon Diggs to Tyreek Hill (who later became his teammate on the Miami Dolphins). Apple enjoyed a nice run with the Cincinnati Bengals, namely as a starter on their team that made it to the Super Bowl in the 2021 season. But during that Super Bowl, Apple was roasted whole over social media for running his mouth prior to the game and then getting completely burned on the final drive as the Bengals lost the Lombardi Trophy to the L.A. Rams.

Last season, Apple made just four appearances for the Los Angeles Chargers, recording two combined tackles and one pass defended with no other meaningful statistics to his credit. Now Apple will be looking for yet another NFL team, but it is probably safe to question whether this is the end of the line for him in the league.