Redskins place Troy Apke on injured reserve, elevate linebacker

The Redskins’ 2018 fourth-round pick has been placed on injured reserve.

Troy Apke, who was selected by the Washington Redskins with the No. 109 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, was placed on injured reserve by the team in the early afternoon on Monday.

Apke, a product of the Penn State Nittany Lions, tweaked his hamstring in Week 1 of the regular season against the Arizona Cardinals. He sat out for five games before returning to action in Week 8 against the New York Giants. In the Giants game, however, Apke re-aggravated the injury, and the Redskins made the decision to sideline him for the remainder of the season today. The move was reported by the team’s official Twitter page.

For now, Apke’s spot will be filled by linebacker Cassanova McKinzy, who spent the offseason with the team and had been on the practice squad up to this point. His practice squad spot was subsequently filled by defensive back Jason Thompson.

With Apke presumably out for the rest of the Redskins 2018 campaign, the team is now left with just four healthy safeties: D.J. Swearinger, Montae Nicholson, Deshazor Everett, and Kenny Ladler. The former two players have been playing quality football, with Swearinger putting up an All-Pro caliber campaign to this point. The position does not become a need with Apke out; instead, it’ll give players like Ladler a chance to show more on special teams.

As for McKinzy, the future outlook of his spot on the team is unclear. Trey Quinn was rumored to be on the way back; his return is a possibility. And with the trade deadline looming, per J.P. Finlay of NBC Sports, Jay Gruden has stated that the Redskins should not be expected to make any moves. But all comments should be taken with a grain of salt at this point, as the right offer can change everything in the blink of an eye. If a last-minute trade were to be made, to try and vault the Redskins further into contention, then McKinzy could be the first to go.