This week, the shockwave that went through the Miami Dolphins nation was the news that Jalen Ramsey was injured in training camp and will miss most of the 2023 season. The biggest offseason acquisition for the Dolphins on the second training camp practice of the year goes down, and the Dolphins are now left looking for a starting cornerback to replace him.

In-house they have Kader Kohou, an undrafted second-year player who had a nice rookie season. He is more of a nickel and slot cornerback, and it appears the Dolphins do not want to remove him from that role now. Because he is very good at it and because Nik Needham, another slot cornerback for Miami, is recovering from a major injury and is still on the PUP list.

They also have Cam Smith, a highly touted rookie Miami took in the second round. While it would be ideal in a perfect world for Smith to step in on day one and start, we also know that is probably a bit unrealistic, especially with Chris Grier’s history of drafting cornerbacks. Outside of Xavien Howard, every other drafted cornerback has been awful and can easily be labeled a bust. So, depending on Smith to start day one, that is a major role of the dice.

The Fins also have Noah Igbinoghene, who, prior to the Ramsey injury, wasn’t a lock to make this team and, in fact, probably wouldn’t have. Through his first three seasons in the NFL, he has been a total bust and done literally nothing outside of one play last year when Miami played Pittsburgh. Multiple coaching staff have now been unable to get any production out of him.

So, with Needham on IR, Kohou locked into the nickel corner position, and a rookie and a bust really as the only viable options to replace Ramsey as a boundary cornerback on the outside, Miami had to do something.

Hence, they signed Eli Apple—the right fit at the right time.

I am not going to sit here and tell you the 2016 10th overall pick of the NFL Draft is an outstanding player. He never lived up to his draft slot and has bounced around the league since then. That said, Miami needs a veteran to compete with and mentor Cam Smith and the underachieving Noah Igbinoghene.

Apple has played in 88 NFL games and started 78 of them. He has five career interceptions, 335 career tackles, and seven fumble recoveries.

Those are pedestrian stats for someone who has been in the league this long, but really let’s focus on the past two seasons. He started 15 of 16 games played for the Bengals in 2021 (the year they went to the Super Bowl), and then he started 15 of 15 games played last season for Cincinnati in 2022, a year they made it to the AFC Championship game.

In Late-July, it’s rare to find a superstar at any position unsigned and not on a team. The only available options on the open market are veterans who are on the downside of their careers and whose best days are behind them. The Dolphins were not going to get someone anywhere close to an equal talent level to what they lost in Ramsey. What they did get, though, was someone with equal experience, which was what was needed.

Igbinoghene has proven he can’t get the job done, and if you overwhelm Smith, you may ruin the kid long-term if he is out there week after week struggling and going through rookie growing pains being forced in a position where he is in over his head. Having Eli Apple in the mix to replace Ramsey is exactly what the doctor ordered.

In a perfect world, it would be great for Smith to answer the bell and be “THE MAN” this year. But, to hedge your bet having Eli Apple around ain’t the worst thing in the world.

The Dolphins have depth at cornerback, but a lot of it is young and unproven with Trill Williams, Cam Smith, Kader Kohou, and Noah Igbinoghene. Eli Apple balances some of that youth and inexperience out, and it is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Dolphins at this moment in time.

And if you are upset, Miami signed Eli because you don’t think he is very good or he hasn’t lived up to his draft hype since entering the league, just know this. The only way Eli Apple starts is if Cam Smith and Noah Igbinoghene don’t step up and grab that brass ring and the opportunity they have now in front of them. If they both fall on their face, Eli and his experience will step in and start opposite Xavien.