ASHBURN — The Washington Redskins placed Troy Apke on injured reserve Monday after the rookie safety re-aggravated his hamstring injury in the team’s win against New York Giants.
Apke, who was drafted in the fourth round, had been battling the injury on and off. He first suffered the injury Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals and missed the next five games. At one point, Apke appeared to be close to returning, but re-injured himself while testing his hamstring.
In a corresponding move, the Redskins signed linebacker Cassanova McKinzy off their practice squad to replace Apke.
Coming into the draft, Apke was considered to be raw, though was coveted for his speed — as the Penn State product ran a 4.3 40-yard dash at the scouting combine. In training camp, Apke mostly worked with the second string, paired with Deshazor Everett.
From a numbers standpoint, Washington won’t need to replace Apke. They went into the season with four safeties on the 53-man roster and promoted Kenny Ladler off the practice squad once Apke went down.
In two games, Apke played only on special teams. He played just six snaps Sunday against the Giants.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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