ed during the divisional

Eli Apple is vowing to mend his ways after being given a second chance by the New York Giants.

The 22-year-old cornerback who was the 10th pick in the 2016 draft on Monday promised to be a better player Garry Gilliam Jersey , a better person, and a better teammate as the Giants start a rebuilding process under new coach Pat Shurmur after a 3-13 season.

It was a year Apple would like to forget, both on and off the field. He started only seven games, was inactive for four and was suspended for the final game of the schedule after getting into an argument with the coaching staff. The Ohio State product also got in a beef with Landon Collins that ended with the star safety calling him a cancer.

It was ugly and highlighted a year in which Apple dealt with a crisis at home: His mother had brain surgery.

"Was I embarrassed? Of course," Apple said after the Giants held a two-hour practice at the first of their 10 organized team activities. "Nobody wants to go out the way I went out. I mean, it was all over the place, so of course.

Many wondered whether the Giants would want Apple back after his second season, one that many had forecast would provide a great leap forward for him.

What changed, though, was the Giants shaking up things after last season. Dave Gettleman was hired to replace Jerry Reese as general manager and Shurmur replaced interim coach Steve Spagnuolo, who had taken over when Ben McAdoo was fired in early December.

One of the first things Gettleman did was tell him everyone was starting with a clean slate.

"I'm just going to fine tune everything, come in with a different attitude and just be positive out there on the field Elandon Roberts Jersey , and just do everything that I can to make myself better as a player, and everybody else better as a team," Apple said.

There is no doubt Apple needs to improve. He finished with 49 tackles and two fumble recoveries last season. He did not have an interception and has only one in two seasons.

The Giants showed some faith in him by releasing veteran Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie in the offseason.

Apple said he's trying to mature and improve how he communicates with coaches and teammates. He said he has patched up his relationship with Collins.

Despite all the problems, Apple said his confidence was not shaken. He admits being blindsided by all the attention he got. His goal this season is to work hard, be positive and try to be on an even keel.

"Maybe I got a little too confident a little bit in thinking I was going to make a big step," he said. "It's about just taking it day by day and continuing to be patient, and just know my time's going to come."

For now, Apple has an idea who he is.

"I think I'm a 22 year-old guy, just ready to get to work and continue to work hard and just build on that," he said.

NOTES: Shurmur threw out the first pitch at the Mets game with Arizona on Sunday. It was short and wide toward the visitors dugout. It was not as bad as the 50 Cent mode , but it was not good.

"Yeah, well Trey Flowers Jersey , I was wasting a pitch" Shurmur quipped, adding he has a new appreciation for baseball while insisting he did not have a case of jitters. "That's what I was doing, like some good pitchers might.

"There are certain things that you try to not redo." ... First-round draft pick and new father Saquon Barkley showed some deft moves off the field when asked about combining football and family life.

"It actually kind of sucks a little bit - well that came off wrong at first," he said. "It kind of sucks because I'm not with my daughter as much as I would love to be because obviously training camp, rookie minicamp, OTAs and then I had to go to L.A. for the Rookie Premiere. But I get to see her this weekend, so that is going to be great to be able to hold her again."
Taylor Lewan has waited and planned for the day when the Tennessee Titans would reward him with a new multimillion-dollar contract.

So the quirky and gifted left tackle was ready when the Titans signed him Friday to a five-year, $80 million contract, making Lewan the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman.

Lewan came out to meet reporters flanked by his offensive line teammates to the theme song from ”The Dukes of Hazzard,” wearing an all-white suit topped off by a white cowboy hat, with a cigar in his mouth. Center Ben Jones even brought along Lewan’s stuffed beaver, Steve Melvin Gordon Jersey , a locker room decoration.

”I actually got the suit done like just a couple of days before camp and literally had no idea if I was going to sign or not, but might as well be prepared,” Lewan said.

Why come out as Boss Hogg?

”We did a whole deal as a joke, but in all seriousness this is unbelievable,” Lewan said of his teammates. ”You’re not going to find a better O-Line room, that’s for sure.”

The Titans did not disclose specific terms, but multiple reports said Lewan will receive $50 million guaranteed. That tops the four-year, $62 million deal Nate Solder got from the New York Giants in March. The team wrapped up negotiations before its second practice of training camp after talks progressed quickly enough that Lewan reported on time Wednesday .

The Pro Bowler skipped the mandatory minicamp in June because of stalled talks. Now he’ll be averaging $16 million a year under the new deal with a team looking for a second straight playoff berth.

”I’m extremely happy to be part of this team for a few more years, and I think it’s going to be a special few years for all of us,” Lewan said.

Coach Mike Vrabel thanked general manager Jon Robinson and his staff for wrapping up Lewan’s deal. The first-time head coach didn’t have any issue with Lewan’s colorful celebration.

”My job is make sure that they work on the field, and part of this process is having fun,” Vrabel said. ”Part of becoming a team is having fun and working hard together and having fun together.”

Lewan Y.A. Tittle Jersey , who turned 27 last weekend, was the 11th overall selection out of Michigan in 2014. The 6-foot-7, 309-pounder had been due $9.34 million this season under the fifth-year option the Titans picked up last year. He has started 53 of 58 games, including every game the past two seasons, protecting quarterback Marcus Mariota’s blind side.

Lewan’s new deal keeps the Tennessee starting offensive line intact for Vrabel. The only remaining issue on the line concerns right tackle Jack Conklin, who is recovering from a torn ligament in his left knee that he suffered during the divisional playoff loss in New England.

With Lewan as ringleader, the Titans’ offensive linemen have been protecting Mariota on the field and having fun off the field. Their best highlights have come at playoff games for the NHL’s Nashville Predators with the linemen waving catfish and drinking beer before the puck dropped. Lewan even chugged a beer using a catfish last spring.

The beaver, with its own fedora, was a gifted to Lewan from his now-wife. The beaver pops up in different places around the locker room.

”This city’s been awesome,” Lewan said. ”I think with some of my antics and some of the stuff the O-line does, I don’t think we’d be welcome very much on other teams. I think Nashville’s taken us in just fine.”

—

Womens Trent Brown Jersey