When Cincinnati Bengals cornerbacks coach Steve Jackson was asked about the bond between Bengals defensive backs Eli Apple and Vonn Bell, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Apple and Bell have been close friends since 2013, when both of them were freshmen at Ohio State. After playing together in the Buckeyes’ secondary for three years, they reunited in 2018 when Apple was traded to the New Orleans Saints, the team that drafted Bell. Since March, they’ve been reunited in Cincinnati, as the Bengals signed Apple this past offseason one year after adding Bell in free agency.
By sharing a secondary together across various stages of their football careers, Bell and Apple have built a brotherly relationship with one another.