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The San Francisco 49ers have gone through a week of training camp, and they shuffled up the bottom of the roster on Sunday.
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One of the moves the team made was to release veteran cornerback Eli Apple. Apple is a former first-round pick who has never quite panned out in the NFL. The veteran joined the 49ers last season, but only saw action in two games.
In addition to waiving Mikail Kamara, the 49ers cut vet CB Eli Apple – opening two roster spots. They used those spots on:
RB Khalil Herbert (vet return specialist)
DE Titus Leo
Both Jordan James, Kaelon Black dealing with issues at RB; DE was down to a skeleton crew Saturday
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) August 2, 2026
Apple was always a long shot to make this roster. The 49ers have Renardo Green, Deommodore Lenoir, and Upton Stout at the top of the depth chart, with guys like Jack Jones, Nate Hobbs, and rookie Ephesians Prysock next in line.
In addition to the Apple move, the 49ers also waived/injured Mikail Kamara, who was carted off the field at practice on Saturday. Those moves freed up two roster spots, and the 49ers then added running back Khalil Herbert and defensive end Titus Leo.
Sunday’s Moves Due to Recent Injuries
The motivation for this series of moves is obvious. The 49ers’ running back room is short on bodies right now, as Jordan James and Kaelon Black both deal with injuries. The defensive end group is in a similar boat, as the team only had three healthy bodies on Saturday.
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Kamara’s injury meant he was going to miss the season, and Apple had no chance to make the final roster, so why not use those two spots to replenish some depth?
Herbert is the more interesting of the two additions. Herbert had a few productive seasons with the Chicago Bears, and he offers some special teams value. Assuming everybody gets healthy, it will be an uphill battle for Herbert to make the team, though.
Apple’s NFL Career on Life Support
For Eli Apple, this is another disappointing development in his NFL career. The corner was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but he never came close to living up to that billing.
The Giants gave up on Apple after just two seasons, and he’s been a journeyman ever since. The last time Apple saw significant playing time was back in 2022, when he started 15 games for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Since that season, Apple has played in 16 games for three different teams. The 49ers hoped Apple would have a late-career renaissance, but that never happened, and now he’s looking for another new team.
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This story was originally published August 2, 2026 at 7:58 PM.