Sunday night’s game in Minnesota was a full-circle moment for Green Bay Packers undrafted rookie safety Benny Sapp III and his family.
While it was Sapp’s fourth game of the season where he was active, it was his first as a member of the 53-man roster, having been signed there from the practice squad on Saturday. Minnesota is also where Sapp’s father, Benny Sapp Jr., played three of his eight NFL seasons.
“It was an out-of-body experience,” said Sapp on Wednesday about playing at US Bank Stadium. “Honestly, just preparing for that whole week, me and my dad was talking like, look how time is flying. I just watched my dad play in this stadium 11 years, 12 years ago, and fast forward to it, and I’m on the same field. It was pretty fun.”
Prior to the Vikings’ game, Sapp had been elevated from the practice squad on three occasions – the maximum number of times – appearing in games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions, and Carolina Panthers. The bulk of his playing time has come on special teams; specifically the kick return and kick coverage units, but he also has three defensive snaps between the Chargers and Lions games as the dime safety when the Packers were shorthanded due to injuries at that position.
Sapp played 10 special teams snaps against the Vikings, giving him 36 total on the season. Those 36 snaps are the 38th most on the Packers this season, but Sapp has still managed to make two tackles in that limited sample size. For some context, there are only six players on the team with more special teams tackles than Sapp.
“The only difference,” said Sapp from being on the 53-man versus the practice squad, “I’d probably say, was I remember going to those stadiums with the Vikings, back in the days my dad played cheering, and now I’m booing. It was a pretty cool experience for my whole family just to be able to see something like that.”
Sapp began his college career at Minnesota before transferring to Nothern Iowa, where he played the final three seasons of his college career. Defensively, Sapp had a nose for the ball, recording nine interceptions and four pass breakups in three years. During the preseason, we saw Sapp come away with an interception against Seattle in Green Bay’s final game over the summer.
But special teams contributions, which have paved the path to Sapp first making the Packers’ practice squad to now being on the active roster, were a pivotal part of his college career as well, even with being a defensive starter. Sapp played nearly 500 special teams snaps in college and did so across a variety of phases.
“I definitely had like 400-500 snaps,” said Sapp of his special teams play in college. “I had think I had 12 tackles at Minnesota in 24 games on special teams. Shoutout to my old coach Rob Wenger, he made a huge emphasis on special teams at Minnesota, and that was really the only reason why I didn’t redshirt because I was on kickoff. I appreciate him for that, for getting me ready for this right here.”
More so than learning a new playbook, and more so than going against NFL competition every day, the biggest part of transitioning from college to the NFL for Sapp was the limited opportunities that are available, especially for an undrafted rookie. Helping Sapp get to this point and being on the 53-man roster was the very early realization that every single rep mattered.
“It’s not like you’re the guy at the school anymore,” said Sapp. “Everybody that’s in here has been that guy at the school. So the only difference I would probably say from the NFL to college is making the most of your opportunity. You might only get one rep. You might only get one play. You might get six. Whatever reps that you start off it, it’s up to you to earn more.
“Just taking every opportunity like it’s your last play because the window in the NFL, being here, being on the 53, being on the practice squad, being on the team in general, is very slim to none. So that’s what I would probably say the difference is—just the opportunity level. The chances are very low. So whenever you get an opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it.”
Sapp played only two high school games in his career because of three different knee surgeries that took place. It wasn’t until his third college season, when he arrived at Northern Iowa, that Sapp saw significant playing time. He remembers every step along the way that got him to this point, especially the difficult ones.
So on Sundays, when you see Sapp come screaming out of the tunnel pregame, running around, jumping around, and flying down the field on special teams, he’s fueled by those past experiences and knowing he has to capitalize on what could be limited opportunities in front of him. Benny Sapp is always going to bring the juice.
“Being on the sideline for all my years of high school,” said Sapp, “only being able to play two games, going to Minnesota, Gophers at the time, and just playing special teams, not being able to showcase my talents on defense. Being able to transfer, to get a fresh opportunity at Northern Iowa.
“I remember all those things and that’s what I’m working on until this day, just controlled aggression. Just having all that aggression that I have built up and use it in a positive way. In a good way on the field and once the game is over it’s back to my normal self. Honestly, I just feel like it’s a good getaway to be yourself. I definitely bring the juice.”
