Sapp Caps Excruciating Journey With Interception

At St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sapp suffered three consecutive season-ending injuries to his left knee, including back-to-back ACL tears. He was too busy rehabbing injuries to feel the pressure of following in his father’s footsteps.

Partially because his father played for the Minnesota Vikings, Sapp was given a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. After two seasons there, he transferred to Northern Iowa. He started three seasons for the Panthers before going undrafted in April.

It was a path similar to the one blazed by his father, who went from Iowa to Northern Iowa to undrafted.

“My dad already played eight years and was undrafted,” Sapp said. “All I remember as a kid is hoping that he’d win the game so we could go in the locker room. Now, I made a great play for the team and it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Sapp was part of the huge battle at safety, one that included veteran additions Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore and seventh-round pick Anthony Johnson. While Sapp had a quiet training camp, he had a big-time breakup at Cincinnati in Week 1 of the preseason and the game-clinching interception among two passes defensed on Saturday.

“It was very big because just knowing the situation that I’m in, I really can’t make mistakes,” Sapp said.

Now comes the long wait. The roster must be cut to 53 players on Tuesday; up to 16 players can be re-signed to the practice squad on Wednesday.

Sapp’s interception didn’t just save the game. It might have saved his NFL career.

“Hopefully, it’s here but I know that I proved that I can play in the NFL, no matter the circumstances that I had in the past,” Sapp said. “I walk by faith. I really don’t care what’s going on in front of me, I’m just going to keep pushing. I’m going to keep stacking days. Whenever that day comes, I’m going to be ready to suit up.”