Former Vikings WR Heads to Houston
Josh Frey
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As some NFL teams began their mandatory minicamps this week, free agents continued to trickle into rosters. One such free agent signing that took place on Wednesday involved former Vikings wide receiver Chad Beebe. Beebe signed a deal with the Texans on the heels of DaeSean Hamilton being waived with an injury designation due to right knee surgery.
It’s hard to believe given the depth of the wide receiver room now, but it wasn’t that long ago that Beebe was playing a significant role on the Minnesota Vikings. After going undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Northern Illinois, the Vikings signed him to a three-year deal worth around $1.7 million.
Over his first two years, he had a limited role, bringing in all six of his total targets for 109 yards. 61 of those yards came on a reception in Week 2 of 2019 against the Green Bay Packers. Beebe also expanded his role into special teams, returning seven punts for 46 yards in that 2019 season. That year ended up being cut short because of a season-ending ankle injury that forced him to sit the final 13 games.
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2020 was a big year for the receiver, though, as he was the Vikings sixth-leading receiver with 201 yards on 20 catches and one of four players with multiple TD receptions (2). He was re-signed in the 2021 offseason before going down for the year with a foot injury during the final preseason game against the Chiefs.
There were moments during Beebe’s stint with the Vikings that were promising, but at the end of the day, it was a lot of “feast or famine” with the young receiver. I don’t there’s a single game that encapsulates that better than November 29th, 2020. The Minnesota Vikings took on the Carolina Panthers in Week 12 with a gasp of playoff hope left, and in that game, Beebe muffed a crucial punt late in the fourth quarter. Then, just minutes later, he caught the game-winning touchdown.
Beebe now heads to Houston looking to open a new page on his NFL career, post foot injury. Compensation on the deal is unclear at this time, but on a rebuilding squad, he will certainly be amongst the competitors for the WR3 position behind Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins.