It’s hard to imagine a more difficult start to a professional career in football than the one experienced by Vince Biegel, a 2017 draft pick of the Green Bay Packers.
Biegel, a fourth-round selection out of Wisconsin, suffered injuries during each of his first two days of rookie minicamp — just weeks after being drafted — and later required surgery on both of his feet, forcing him into a wheelchair to start his rookie season.
Biegel shared the harrowing experience through a Twitter thread on his official account.
According to Biegel, he broke his middle finger while re-routing a wide receiver on the first day of rookie minicamp in May. The injury required surgery. The next day, he returned to minicamp wearing a full club protecting his hand but then broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot during a pass-rush drill.
With surgery required on one foot, the Packers decided to fix both of his feet after the team discovered that Biegel’s other foot was likely to break during an MRI at the combine.
Two injuries, three surgeries and one wheelchair to get around during the opening weeks and months of a football career.
Biegel said he met his teammates — including Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews — while in a wheelchair and was “embarrassed and mortified” about his situation.
Biegel was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and missed all of training camp. He wasn’t activated off the PUP list until November. Biegel played in nine games for the Packers as a rookie but was released during final cuts the next August.
After departing Green Bay, Biegel played 14 games with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 and 20 games with the Miami Dolphins between 2019 and 2021. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon during the leadup to the 2022 season with the Baltimore Ravens and hasn’t been in football since.
Biegel, a Wisconsin native, said he “loved” his time with the Packers and wished it “could’ve lasted longer.”
