Former Penn State and current Washington Commanders safety Troy Apke has signed a reserve/futures contract with the team.
Troy Apke was among those signed to a reserve/future contract. https://t.co/tPL8c894Ko
— Commanders Wire (@Washington_Wire) January 10, 2023
A reserve/futures contract is one that ensures a player will be on an NFL team throughout the offseason.
In March, the player will be placed on his team’s 90-man offseason roster, and won’t be able to negotiate with any other team while under the reserve/futures contract. Apke has been with Washington since 2018, when the team selected him out of Penn State in the fourth round of that year’s draft. He’s appeared in at least one game every season he’s been in the league, and played in two this past year. The most playing time Apke’s received over a single season took place in 2020, when he appeared in 16 games and started seven.
Overall, the bulk of Apke’s playing time has come on special teams. Apke played 441 defensive snaps in 2020 and 210 the year before, but hasn’t gotten on the field defensively outside of those two seasons. Apke spent most of this season on the team’s practice squad before being called up to the big team New Year’s Eve. He then appeared in Washington’s last two games, losses to the Cleveland Browns and hated Dallas Cowboys, playing exclusively on special teams in both games.
Before Washington, Apke played at Penn State from 2014-17, helping the program to a Big Ten championship in 2016 and an 11-2 record. Apke was part of coach James Franklin’s first Penn State team in 2014, and was an in-state product. He played high school football at Mt. Lebanon in Pittsburgh and ended his career as a three-star recruit. His father, Steve, played linebacker at Pitt in the mid-1980s, but never made it to the NFL.
Troy Apke has gotten an NFL contract, and if he sticks around for the 2023 season, will be entering Year 6 with the Washington Commanders.
