Vikings receiver Chad Beebe hopes changes will help him avoid injury bug

So you want to be an NFL player, eh?

Well then, let's have Vikings receiver Chad Beebe walk you through some of the not-so-fun stuff.

Not the euphoric day he made the 53-man roster as an undrafted overachiever from Northern Illinois in 2018. Or that surreal day in 2019 when he caught a 61-yard pass at Lambeau Field against a Packers team for which his dad, Don, played two of his nine NFL seasons.

No, this is a story about playing football the moment an arm breaks in half, a hamstring is torn from the tibia, a finger is broken.

"Honestly, I'm a little numb to it," he said. "I've had a slew of injuries."

Last Sept. 22, Beebe was the Vikings' No. 3 receiver when he threw a block downfield. The target was Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who's got the 185-pound Beebe by 70 pounds.

"Another freak injury," Beebe said of his torn ankle ligaments. "Right away, we knew that one was bad."

But this is the NFL. Bad is only relative. Especially when there are 13 games left and only three other receivers on the roster.

"We thought maybe we could play it conservative, cast it up, let it heal on its own," Beebe said. "I wanted to come back and play that year which is what you always want."

A month later, the ankle was stable enough for the average Joe. But not for an NFL receiver with above-average quickness.

"I was excited to go out and test it," Beebe said. "They had me run and change direction. But the ankle just wasn't tight enough. When I was trying to run, the ankle was sliding [in the joint]. You can't play professional football when your ankle is sliding around."

Beebe had surgery in October. Season over after only three games.

"After every injury I've had, I have my moment, but I don't stay in that mind-set for a long time," Beebe said. "It's, 'Get through it and come back better than before,' which I've done every time. Thank the Lord."

From October to February, Beebe progressed from scooter to crutches to boot to walking to finally running full speed by the end of February.

"I feel great," he said while battling for the No. 4 receiver spot this training camp.

Beebe laughed when asked if he feels overdue for some good luck on the injury front.

"That's been the No. 1 question about me for a long time," he said. "I sure hope so.

"I've had knee surgery, arm surgery, finger surgery, ankle surgery. I don't even know all the scientific terms of what I've had."

In college at Northern Illinois, his right hamstring tore away from the tibia. And his left arm was broken "in half" in the conference championship game.

"They put two plates and 12 screws in the arm," he said.

Ever think the football gods are sending you messages to find another line of work, Chad?

"I feel led to playing football," he said. "I've felt that way since I was 5 or 6 years old. To let an injury stop that, that's something I couldn't live with.

"Until they tell me I'm just not good enough to play anymore, I'm going to keep plugging away."

Beebe said his most frustrating injury was the hamstring pull his rookie year. No surgery was required so, in his mind, it was entirely preventable.

So he sought new ways to prevent future soft tissue injuries. That's where his new bride, Mackenzie, stepped in with a new diet.

"She's very much into nutrition and is the one who has really changed my whole life in terms of my diet," Beebe said. "I've gone gluten-free, dairy-free, completely eliminated a lot of inflammation in my body. Just eating organics. Lots of vegetables and fruits. Taking in the collagen and the good plant-based proteins. Just clean food."

Sounds awful.

"But it's a game-changer," he says with a laugh. "Everybody says they want to do something like this, but it's being diligent and doing it. I was heavy into carbs because I love the pasta and things that may taste great but in the long run aren't needed and are going to cause inflammation."

Beebe has been on the diet for about a year now.

"At first, I was like, 'Are you sure about this?' " he said. "And my wife was like, 'Yeah, I'm telling you it will change you.' And it has from the inside out.

"It's helped my ankle recover. And I just feel more fluid, more awake, more alert. And really good."

Mark Craig is an NFL and Vikings Insider. Twitter: @markcraigNFL

E-mail: mcraig@startribune.com