Vince Biegel: Waiting for the healing process to unfold

Vince Biegel was like a kid in a candy store when his name was announced as the 108th pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.

That’s because it was the Green Bay Packers that selected him.

As a Wisconsin Rapids, WI, resident and and Wisconsin Badger, the opportunity to play for the Packers had been a dream come true for Vince Biegel – and for his fans.

But that dream stalled a couple of months ago when it was announced that Biegel needed to have surgery on the foot he had injured in college. It was the second procedure on the foot in less than a single year.

Because of that, Vince Biegel hasn’t stepped one foot – good or bad – onto the training camp practice field and it appears that he may enter the season either on the PUP list or the IR.

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Though he said this week the injured foot was healed, he indicated he was waiting for the “pop” to come back into his foot.

For those who have had any type of lower leg injury, that “pop” to which he refers is that extra strength and stability needed to not only do daily things without undue stress, but to take on 300-pound linemen and withstand the push, pull and punishment that occurs.

That may take a while yet.

Biegel will remain off the field until that occurs.

Though frustrating for the rookie, it’s just as frustrating for Packers fans who were so excited to have the native son added to the roster this season.

In a report published this week, Biegel said: “It’s being able to take not just my body weight but the body weight of an NFL offensive lineman.”

That seems logical, but like many injuries that get reported initially, this is one where most thought Biegel would be back for training camp.

Now it looks like he may not be ready to start the regular season. That means if he starts the season on the PUP list he won’t be eligible to return until week six of the regular season.

Here’s what Mike McCarthy had to say about Biegel’s situation:

"“I just think the fact that the history of the injury, the reoccurrence, there’s probably a threshold or two more that the medical staff, they want to really make sure he’s clear of. Because a setback is always something that you want to avoid. And we haven’t had any setbacks. It’s just a matter of where he is in the progress of rehab. Yes, I’m not really thinking about Week 1. It’s just, you’ve got to get the guys that are not healthy, healthy, and create opportunities for the guys who are healthy, and we’ll sort everything out after the [preseason finale].”"

For a rookie to miss the entirety of the training camp and the first six weeks of the regular season, the catching up could be somewhat overwhelming.

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Does that mean the Packers might be better off shutting him down entirely for his first season?

That might not be the best alternative for Packers fans, but it may be the best for Biegel.

Stay tuned …