SmashMouth

New Orleans Saints coaches wouldn’t say whether they plan to unveil recently-acquired cornerback Eli Apple in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Apple, though, thinks he’ll be ready to contribute on Sunday, less than a week after coming to the Saints in a trade from the New York Giants.

“I’m healthy, I have belief (and) I could go out there and definitely make an impact,” Apple said Friday.



The Saints traded for Apple on Tuesday with hopes he could provide more consistent coverage at outside cornerback than they’ve had this year from Ken Crawley, who has regressed this season after an impressive campaign in 2017.

Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn said Apple and Crawley both had reps in practice this week, and part of the challenge for the coaches was making sure Apple was comfortable with all of his new teammates. In a game against the Minnesota Vikings, a team with talented wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, the Saints can’t afford to have any miscommunications that might come from a lack of familiarity.

Glenn said Apple has been adjusting well to the Saints defense, but Apple admitted it’s not an easy transition, even if the coaches were to simplify this week’s game plan to include man coverage.

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