Panthers cornerback Eli Apple (hamstring) out for Sunday’s game vs. Falcons
Carolina Panthers cornerback Eli Apple played six special special teams snaps in Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals before being ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Apple, 25, pulled his hamstring in the Week 4 win over the Cardinals, his first game of the season. He had a variety of injuries throughout training camp — ankle, foot, hamstring. Head coach Matt Rhule said Thursday that in Apple’s limited play Sunday, he pulled the other hamstring, not the injury he had been previously dealing with. He will miss Sunday’s game against the Falcons. It will be the fourth game he has missed this season.
“I don’t get frustrated with players. I get frustrated with a lack of effort, but you have injuries,” Rhule said when asked about any frustrations with Apple’s injuries. “I feel bad for players because I see the guys coming in at 6, 6:30 in the morning. I see guys working hard to play. I see the anxiety for players that are trying to get healthy. I see the effort that they give. I never get frustrated. I feel for them, I’m frustrated for them, but I’m never frustrated at them.”
The cornerback spent the first three weeks of the season on the team’s injured reserve and was designated for return on the first day that the team was able to make him active. Just five days later, he was injured again.
The Panthers signed Apple late in the free agency process to boost a secondary that the team was looking to address leading up to the start of the regular season.
Rasul Douglas was claimed off waivers from the Eagles the weekend prior to Week 1 and has played well ever since entering the first game of the season after third-year corner Donte Jackson exited with an injury of his own.
Jackson has been playing through a toe injury, and with Apple injured, rookie corner Troy Pride Jr., the team’s fourth-round pick, has filled in at times as he did Sunday when Jackson exited the game early. The Panthers have been giving the rookie time to develop and be more of special teams player, but injuries, partly, have led him to contribute at corner more this year.
“I think (Jackson and Douglas) have played real well, but Troy’s come in and played just fine. For a young rookie, he’s doing fine,” defensive coordinator Phil Snow said Thursday. “We’ve got a good little rotation. It does hurt a little bit that (Eli) got nicked again, but he’ll be back.”
Apple was originally drafted 10th overall by the Giants in 2016 out of Ohio State. In his five years in the NFL, he has never played a 16-game season. An ankle injury at the end of last season caused him to miss the New Orleans Saints’ playoff game, a 26-20 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Even with the team’s starters playing well, the Panthers do not have a lot of depth at the cornerback position. Outside of Jackson, Douglas, Pride Jr. and Apple, nickel corner Corn Elder and seventh-round pick Stantley Thomas-Oliver — who has exclusively been playing special teams — round out the depth.
The secondary was already an area to watch before the injuries, and Apple was not likely to unseat either Douglas or Jackson for a starting role, but instead play a rotation role. Rhule is hopeful that he will overcome the injuries.
“Eli’s a talented player,” Rhule said. “He’s had some medical things so far this year. It’s still early in the season, we’re going to try to get him healthy and whenever they say he can go, he can go, but certainly nothing but appreciation for him, he’s working hard to come back, he tried to come back last week and then had yet another thing happen to him. But he was out there and he was competing for his team and that’s what’s important to me.”
Other injury notes: Tight end Chris Manhertz (ankle) was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday. Left tackle Russell Okung (groin) participated fully in practice Thursday. He missed the past two games with his injury and tackles Trent Scott and Greg Little have filled in for him.
Guard Dennis Daley (ankle) was also a full participant in practice Wednesday and Thursday after missing the first four games of the year. He would give the team additional depth at left tackle if Okung is unable to go.
“I’m hopeful that Russell can go, “ Rhule said. “We won’t put him out there till he feels ready. So we’ll wait to see when he feels, like hey, he can really go. If he’s ready to go great, and if not we feel really good about our situation with Greg and with Trent and Dennis being back practicing now.
“(Russell’s) really an integral part of the team, and the fabric of the team. But if (he can’t play), then we’ll put the young guys out there and expect that they’ll play really well.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 6:31 PM.
