All Dolphins

A Tale of Two Cornerbacks

Former Miami Dolphins cornerback Eli Apple has found himself a new team

Alain Poupart

Miami Dolphins cornerback Eli Apple (33) celebrates after intercepting the football against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami Dolphins cornerback Eli Apple (33) celebrates after intercepting the football against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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Former Miami Dolphins cornerback Eli Apple is back in the NFL, signing with the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad, while his more prominent former teammate continues to wait for his next opportunity.

Apple started four of the 10 games he played for the Dolphins last season but went unsigned as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason. While he drew criticism from some fans at times last season, Apple did a serviceable job for the Dolphins, one of the highlights coming when he picked off Josh Allen in the end zone in the first quarter of the Week 18 AFC East showdown against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium.

With the Chargers, Apple will be joining defensive lineman Teair Tart, who signed with that team after the Dolphins released him during training camp, just a few months after they signed him as a free agent. Tart had a fumble recovery in the Chargers' 23-16 victory against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

HOWARD IN HOLDING PATTERN

Apple is going a very common route among NFL free agents these days, signing to the practice squad first with the idea/hope of being signed to the active roster at some point.

That scenario, however, does not appeal to Xavien Howard, who has been without a team since the Dolphins released him in the offseason, according to a league source.

While he sustained a fairly significant foot injury late last season, Howard is fully healed, continuing to work out and just waiting for the call.

The Dolphins had two other free agent cornerbacks this offseason, neither of whom has signed with another team. They were Justin Bethel and Keion Crossen, the former a 34-year-old toward the end of his career and the latter a player coming off a nasty injury he chronicled on social media necessitated multiple surgeries.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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