CINCINNATI, Ohio — Eli Apple’s heart dropped when he saw Chidobe Awuzie’s face.
Awuzie got twisted up with his former teammate Amari Cooper late in the first half of a 32-13 loss to the Browns. He fell to the ground favoring his left leg, but managed to bounce back up and half-hopped, half-jogged to the sideline at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Apple, who made the trip to Cleveland despite sitting out with a hamstring injury, didn’t start to worry about Awuzie until he walked over to check on him.
“I never saw him look like that,” Apple said.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor announced on Wednesday that Awuzie (knee) would go on the injured reserve later this week.
“One of the hardest things for sure is seeing a leader and someone that everyone respects and is a big part of our team go down,” Apple said, on Wednesday. “That’s why I didn’t think it was that (serious) cause I saw him run off at least, but when I saw his look I knew it was something different.”
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Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said the veteran defender spoke to the team on Tuesday and was already pitching ways he could help the coaching staff once he has his surgery.
“Irreplaceable on the field and irreplaceable in the locker room,” Anarumo said.
The veteran assistant told reporters before the Bengals held a walkthrough on Wednesday night that he wasn’t sure what the rotation at cornerback would look like against the Panthers with Awuzie sidelined, but it’s hard to imagine Apple not having a key role.
Apple said his hamstring was feeling much better than it was a week ago and barring a setback in practice he felt good about returning to lineup.
This comes less than two weeks after a demotion of sorts for Apple that Anarumo spelled out after a win over the Falcons in which rookie Cam Taylor Britt took the bulk of the snaps opposite Awuzie.
“I want to keep getting Cam reps,” Anarumo said, on Oct. 28. “That was the plan this week and that will be the plan next week and we’ll go from there.”
The Bengals drafted Taylor Britt in the second round as a likely replacement for Apple, who is playing on a one-year deal, but that plan never really got off the ground and Apple hopes he’s part of the solution in the coming weeks.
“That’s just what I want to do, be that guy that everybody can count on,” Apple said.
Apple will need to be more consistent to make that happen.
Pro Football Focus gave him a coverage grade of less than 40 in his most recent three games, the first such three-game stretch in his career.
According to the site, he’s allowed 19 catches on 29 targets for 278 yards this season and one touchdown. He’s allowed more receptions of 20-yards or more this season (three) than he has pass breakups (two) and he’s credited with six missed tackles.
Apple expressed confidence he can get back on track.
“It’s just the culture we’ve developed,” Apple said. “Just seeing when I got here last year, the leadership around. Everybody is going to pick everybody. That’s what we do.”
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