Ex Dolphins Corner Signs With Head Coach’s Former Team

The Miami Dolphins‘ tough cornerback situation was abated on Saturday when the team decided to sign both Jack Jones and nickel, Mike Hilton, in the wake of Artie Burns likely being out for the year with a torn ACL.

However, one of their former players decided to sign with a different organization on Sunday. One that head coach, Mike McDaniel, is all too familiar with – the San Francisco 49ers.

Veteran cornerback Eli Apple is signing a one-year deal with the 49ers, per Kevin Conner at @UniSportsMgmt. pic.twitter.com/fN9DD4pQwC

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2025

McDaniel spent five years with the 49ers before being hired as the Dolphins head coach back in 2022, a year prior to Apple arriving with the team in 2023.

Eli Apple started four games and played in another 6 back in 2023 as a late replacement option for the then-injured Jalen Ramsey, who was traded to the Steelers this past June.

Why Did The Dolphins Not Sign Eli Apple?

It is quite possible that Miami made a play for the Apple, but did not quite manage to pull off the signing. The former first round pick has bounced from team to team over the course of his career that is now entering its tenth year.

The Niners are more complete contenders, and also have a slight weak spot at cornerback. However, given the borderline calamity of the unit in its current state, Apple would have had a legitimate chance to be a starter in 2024 had he been signed to the team.

Perhaps Miami was not content with what they saw from the ex New York Giant two seasons ago. Or maybe they would just rather bet on a young talent like Storm Duck or Cam Smith – two of the team’s projected starters on the perimeter of the secondary, who still have time to develop and improve their craft.

At 29 years old – turning 30 next month. Apple is not about to get any better in all likelihood – but he would have provided a known quantity for the organization and a stable floor for production.

How Will The Dolphins Navigate Their Secondary In 2025?

Safety should not be too much of an issue, with veterans Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu competing for a spot opposite All-Pro, Minkah Fitzpatrick. And Kader Kohou at nickel is more than solid.

However, the boundary corners could be in a for a difficult season, with neither of Duck or Smith having shown much in the way of capabilities of being able to reliably cover top receivers in the NFL on a regular basis.

Jones did a good job for the Raiders last season, and has shown the ability to be a good lockdown corner. But he is still not the position group-leading player that Ramsey is, and there are certainly a decent amount of teams for which he would not start.

The unit is somewhat of a mystery at this point, but if Miami want to go anywhere meaningful in the postseason this season, they will need to have multiple players step up to the plate.