Bengals Signing CB Eli Apple

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Bengals are signing CB Eli Apple to a contract on Tuesday. 

Apple, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Giants back in 2016. He was traded to the Saints two years later for a 2019 fourth-round pick and 2020 seventh-round pick. 

Apple was in the final year of his four-year, $15.152 million contract when the Saints declined to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2020 season. He made a base salary of $2.51 million for the 2019 season and later signed a one-year deal worth $3 million last year after his agreement with the Raiders fell through. 

Carolina released Apple during the 2020 season. 

In 2020, Apple appeared in just two games for the Panthers in 2020 and recorded four total tackles.