Before Green Bay Packers safety Benny Sapp III talked to reporters about his game-saving interception against the Seahawks on Saturday, he had to talk to his father.
“He already was calling on the phone,” Sapp said of his father, Benny Sapp II, who played eight NFL seasons. “He’s very excited because he went the route that I’m going right now, so I’m just trying to stack days. What he does is tell me to take every day as gameday and just stay prepared for any situation. It don’t matter when you get in, it’s what you do when you get in. So, shoutout to my dad, for sure.”
Playing extensively in the second half, Sapp delivered when it mattered vs. Seattle.
With Green Bay clinging to a 19-14 lead, Seattle faced a third-and-7 from the Packers’ 12 with 19 seconds remaining. Holton Ahlers fired a pass over the middle. There was Sapp to grab the interception, something he did four times en route to earning FCS All-American honors at Northern Iowa last year.
“I see (Tariq) Carpenter playing his zone very well and I was like, ‘Whoa, ain’t no way he’s about to really throw this.’ It felt amazing. All the times playing Madden or watching film of my dad and we’re talking through plays that I could potentially make if I’m in the game, and that was one of those plays that me and my dad talked about, and I got it.”
Sapp took a remarkable path to Green Bay.
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.”
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