'You Want That Challenge' - Former Bengals Cornerback Eli Apple Desired to Keep Successful Defense Together

 Eli Apple moved on from Cincinnati following the 2022 season, but he wishes the defense could've kept things going. The NFL cornerback discussed those special runs to the AFC Championship Game and more with Readwrite's Kyle Odegard.

Cincinnati had a strong scoring defense in 2022, ranking fifth in the NFL in points allowed. Apple struggled with a 52.9 Pro Football Focus grade that season and most recently played for the Chargers this past campaign.

“You want that challenge as a group of brothers,” Apple said to Odegard about wanting to continue in Cincinnati. “When you build that bond of winning and being together, of course you want that. But it’s a business, and we’re all mature enough to understand decisions have to be made. There are different priorities in which guys get paid. I do know we would have been very successful if you kept that same core. The Jessie Bates and DJ Readers of the world, if they kept those guys, I think we would have been running it right back.”

The Bengals have since struggled on that side of the ball, especially this past season even with an elite pass rusher in Trey Hendrickson.

Cincinnati ranked tied for 25th allowing 25.5 points per game.

“Things happen the way they happen for a reason in life, and those guys are still very successful players and doing great things right now," Apple said to Odegard about defensive stars leaving the team. "And the Bengals as a defense, they’re young and they’re hungry, and they have a lot of talent. It’s just about molding that talent and putting it together into something where they can support Joe (Burrow).”

Now, Hendrickson wants to justifiably get a raise himself on a unit that doesn't have many other things to hang its hat on entering the 2025 NFL Draft.