Sapp Survives Painful Path in Following Father to NFL

No Green Bay Packers rookie has a football background that can compare to Benny Sapp III. Certainly, none has a story like Sapp, either.

Sapp, an undrafted free agent safety, is the son of Benny Sapp, who played eight NFL seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins.

Sapp III was a hot young recruit at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, a national powerhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that had 12 alumni playing in the NFL last season alone. Then, disaster struck. He tore the ACL in his left knee. Then, he tore it again. Then, he tore the meniscus in that knee.

For Sapp, the pressure in following in his famous father’s footsteps was replaced by countless hours of pain, frustration and rehab.

“I had three knee surgeries in high school and I was only able to play two full games before I went to college,” Sapp said. “The pressure of my dad, I wasn’t even worrying about that at that time because I was just trying to get back on my feet and off the couch by having all those surgeries.”

Thanks in part to his family’s move to Minnesota and his father’s history with the Vikings, Sapp got a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. He spent two years there, then transferred to Northern Iowa. It was a similar path to that of his father, who played two years at Iowa before he finished to Northern Iowa.

The payoff came last year, when he was named an FCS All-American with four interceptions.

“With everything I went through up to that point, I just felt like it was all worth it,” he said. “Being battle-tested – I feel like God’s not going to give you anything that you can’t handle. He knew that I could handle that.”

The payoff came again on April 29, when Sapp agreed to an undrafted deal with the Packers.

“Oh, man,” Sapp said of that moment when he officially reached the NFL. “My agent [Alonzo Shavers], he was like, ‘Hey, Green Bay wants you.’ I said, ‘Let’s go.’ Ever since then, I’ve been so grateful for that opportunity.

“I know a lot of people don’t get this, so I’m just blessed and grateful and humbled to be able to show myself to the coaches. It’s a real humbling experience. It’s something that I honestly have been wanting since I was a little kid. I’m actually doing it now. I don’t want to let my younger self down, especially watching my dad play.”

Because of his dad, Sapp’s life has been filled with football. He mentioned Patrick Surtain, Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre, Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice among his favorite players that he got to know as a kid. Asante Samuel, with 51 career interceptions, is an uncle.

“The little Benny Sapp, he definitely had the best time,” he said. “Growing up and seeing your dad play for the Vikings and stuff and hoping that my dad’s team would win. When they won, he’d take me in the locker room. Experiencing stuff like that, man, it really inspired my life – my entire life, honestly – because not a lot of people are able to have a dad like that. Being able to do that, it was crazy.”

Football wasn’t forced on Sapp. Whatever he and his five siblings chose to do, they had their father’s full support. Sapp appreciated that approach. He also appreciated his father’s coaching points.

“My dad, he’s going to tell me what I’m doing wrong and what I’m doing right,” he said. “That’s how I want it. I don’t want somebody in my corner that’s going to say ‘Yes’ to everything I’m doing. I need to know if I’m really doing it right. My dad’s not afraid to tell me if I’m not doing something the way it’s supposed to be done.”

Sapp is part of what will be a nine-man free-for-all at safety. With Adrian Amos unsigned in free agency, Darnell Savage (59 starts in four seasons but benched last season) and Rudy Ford (career-high six starts last season) lead the offseason depth chart. Veteran free agents Jonathan Owens (17 starts for Houston last year) and Tarvarius Moore (13 starts in four seasons for the 49ers, including eight in 2020) and seventh-round rookie Anthony Johnson could be factors, too.

Through three major injuries, Sapp beat the odds and reached the NFL. Now that he’s here, he believes he’s got what it takes to stay.

“The reason why I feel like I should stick around is because of my work ethic and determination,” he said. “I’m going to come to work every day with my hair on fire and keep my head down and keep being humble and put my pride away if I don’t know something.

“I’m all about football. I live, eat and sleep this. It’s all I do every day. When I’m not doing anything, I play ‘Madden.’ I try to learn defenses more and more every day. That’s why I feel like I should be able to stick around.”

And if he does, his famous father will make quite a scene outside the Vikings’ U.S. Bank Stadium.

“He’s excited,” Sapp said. “He told me if, by the grace of God, I handle my business and make the 53-man roster down the road by keeping my head down and stacking days, he said he’s going to pull up to the Vikings game with all green on.”