MINNEAPOLIS – When the Minnesota Vikings opened training camp, Chad Beebe was at the bottom of the depth chart, fighting for reps with third teamers. But he quickly made an impression when the preseason opened. Same thing goes for his NFL debut on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. Beebe, freshly bumped up from the practice squad, grabbed a pass on fourth-and-1, which propelled the Vikings to a touchdown on their opening drive.
Beebe was signed as an undrafted free agent from Northern Illinois. After being cut out of camp, the Vikings added him to the practice squad where he has been the entire year until Sunday. When Stefon Diggs went down with an injury to his ribs, the Vikings needed an extra body. They called up their quick-footed rookie.
“I knew Beebe was good, we’ve been trying to get him activated for about three weeks now, we just had that opportunity to do it,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. “He’s like that every day in practice, it was not a surprise to me what he did in the game.”
Beebe finished with three catches on three targets for 21 yards.
“I always had the confidence but at the end of the day I knew it was up to the coaches,” Beebe said. “I was just going to continue to work hard and do the best I can to get on the field.”
Over the past nine weeks, the 5-foot-10 receiver has been working with the scout team against the Vikings’ talented defense, which he said raised the level of his play.
“Practice squad is a great opportunity for guys like me to just get better,” he said. “That was my mindset…to try and work on my route running, to read the defense. Going against a defense like that every single day has helped me tremendously.
He also credited the Vikings’ top receivers Adam Thielen and Diggs with his growth since being signed in the offseason.
“Adam is a great guy and a tremendous receiver, being able to have him to learn from, has been huge,” Beebe said. “I’ve learned a lot and I’ll continue to learn a lot.”
”He’s always shown me how to play with attitude, going out there with a love of the game and play with passion,” Beebe said of Diggs.
As far as Beebe’s rise from the end of the bench to getting regular snaps in a key NFC North game, he said performing in the preseason made him believe he could play at the top level.
“Through camp being able to perform the way I did, that gave me some confidence going into the season…having a preseason like that helped, I figured I could belong here,” Beebe said. “I was just going to continue to practice each and every day like it was game day and try to work my way up.”
The post Chad Beebe makes his mark in NFL debut appeared first on 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Source:: 1500 ESPN Sportswire
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