The New Orleans Saints lost cornerback Eli Apple to an ankle injury during the first quarter against the Tennessee Titans, when the team’s number-two cornerback got caught up in a crowd of players pursuing Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown. Apple initially tried to limp off the field before requiring assistance from Saints medical staff, and he was then carted into the locker room after being evaluated on the sidelines.
In his place, the Saints called up slot cornerback P.J. Williams. Williams has been the team’s go-to option when down a starting cornerback this year, as seen during Marshon Lattimore’s absence with a hamstring injury. The Saints claimed ex-New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins on waivers this week and he is dressed for this game, but they went with Williams over him when Apple exited the game.
We’ll see how they approach personnel groupings when forced to go into a nickel alignment; Jenkins has played slot corner before, and could fill in there while the nominal backup (C.J. Gardner-Johnson) is playing strong safety in place of injured starter Vonn Bell. It’s not great to see the Saints putting together such a patchwork secondary, and that’s reflected in the lopsided 14-3 score in the second quarter. Stay tuned to see whether Apple returns to the game or if Jenkins gets moved to a different spot.
