If you thought two-time Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins going down with a season-ending injury was rock bottom for the 2017 New York Giants, think again.
The same day he went to Injured reserve for the 2-12 G-Men, Collins was on the radio with ESPN's Bob Wischusen. And he was there, according to ESPN's Ian O'Connor, to tell the world that his teammate, second-year cornerback Eli Apple, is a "cancer in the locker room."
You don't often hear an NFL player call a teammate a cancer on the radio, but Landon Collins just said that about Eli Apple to @espnbob
— Ian O'Connor (@Ian_OConnor) December 26, 2017
"There is only one corner who needs to grow up and we all know who that is," Collins told The Michael Kay Show, per ESPN. "That would be the only person I would change out of our secondary group ... That first pick ... he's a cancer."
The two-time all-star safety has since apologized for his remarks, announcing via Twitter on Wednesday that he spoke with both Apple and interim Giants coach Steve Spagnuolo.
I met with Coach Spags and Eli this morning and I apologized for the things I said yesterday. I never stop supporting my brother/teammate Eli and the rest of my teammates as we move forward. Just want him to know I'm always here for him 💯@EliApple13
— LANDON COLLINS (@TheHumble_21) December 27, 2017
The initial comments, however, weren't surprising for a couple of reasons.
First, the two-time all-star is only a few weeks removed from reportedly offering Apple advice, only to then hear his teammate deny he ever sought counsel from Collins. Second, Apple himself has all but been the poster boy for New York's dysfunction in 2017 -- the former first-rounder apparently almost walked out on the team two different times, missed consecutive games afterward and then got fined for tweeting from the sidelines. And, lastly, but most of all, isn't this exactly the kind of thing we've come to expect from the Giants in a season that saw Ben McAdoo get ousted only after a complete and public mishandling of quarterback Eli Manning's job?