Yes, we know this technically has nothing to do with the business of the Kansas City Chiefs. There's playoffs to discuss and a Super Bowl three-peat in view as well as an incredible amount of decisions ahead for the front office concerning the 2025 offseason—where most franchises have already turned their attention.
But one meaningless mention on the NFL's transaction wire made us do a double take and it seems worth mentioning for some of us in Chiefs Kingdom. In other words, allow us older folks a moment here.
The Atlanta Falcons signed a number of players on Tuesday as they fill their offseason roster with competitors looking to further their professional careers. Among those was a name that's familiar to Chiefs fans despite never playing in red and gold (thus far).
That man was Benny Sapp III.
If you're like me, you might read that again a few times to make sure you have it right. That's because it seems impossible for there to be another Benny Sapp—at least already.
For those younger or newer Chiefs fans out there, you should know that Benny Sapp II, or the father of Benny Sapp III, was once a talented safety for the University of Iowa who was dismissed by head coach Kirk Ferentz after being arrested for public intoxication among other charges. From there, he transferred to Northern Iowa and earned a look as an undrafted free agent from the Chiefs following the 2004 NFL Draft.
Sapp might have entered the NFL with some red flags, but he became a valuable special teams player and grew into a rotational contributor at corner over the next four seasons with the Chiefs. From there, Sapp would go on to become a spot starter in the secondary with the Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins for the next four years.
In the end, Sapp was able to cobble together an impressive eight-year career in the NFL with 27 total starts and 110 games played.
So what makes this so shocking? Sapp played for the Chiefs as recently as 2007 (and in the NFL as recently as 2011). That means he played with Dustin Colquitt and Jared Allen and Dwayne Bowe. And while those players hve all retired, it hasn't been long enough for the Chiefs to draft Dustin Colquitt Jr.
So imagine our surprise to see Benny Sapp III. Even more surprising was seeing that Sapp was actually on the Packers roster in 2023. How did this happen? And so quickly?
Kudos to the Sapp family for having such obvious talent in their bloodlines, and we certainly wish the younger Sapp all the best as he tries to stick with the Falcons heading into 2025. But some of us in Chiefs Kingdom weren't ready to feel this old this early in the morning.
Guess it won't feel all that long until we're discussing Bronze Mahomes in the same way.