From Texas to Canada to Green Bay, 27-Year-Old Begelton Added to Roster

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Allen Lazard and (presumably) Davante Adams out and the Green Bay Packers incredibly thin at receiver, they have promoted Reggie Begelton to the active roster in time for Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Being on the roster and playing in an NFL game is about a million miles away from Reggie Begelton’s thinking coming out of high school.

Well, to be precise, it’s 2,769 miles.

The native of Beaumont, Texas – 1,302 miles from Green Bay – went to his hometown college, Lamar, to get a degree in chemical engineering. Playing professionally wasn’t even a consideration.

“Honestly, no,” Begelton said when asked during training camp if he could have dreamed of this opportunity. “I thought it would be cool if I got the opportunity but, yeah, coming out of high school, because I didn’t get any offers, I accepted that I was going to be a regular person. The area that I live in has a lot of chemical plants, so I wanted to get a good job at the chemical plant, and that was really my mind-set.”

Begelton caught 52 passes for 866 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior at West Brook High School. He walked on at Lamar, then proceeded to rewrite the record book. Begelton set school records for receptions in a game, season and career; his 227 receptions ranking second in Southland Conference history.

But, as was the case going from high school to college, there wasn’t much interest going from Lamar to the NFL.

“I had the opportunity to attend the three-day minicamp for Atlanta and Oakland,” Begelton recalled. “I was not signed prior to those camps and I didn’t get signed at the end of those camps.”

So, it was off to Canada. Begelton signed with Calgary – 1,467 miles from Green Bay – and showed talent and perseverance. At Lamar, he was a nonscholarship player for two years and would have quit had he not received a partial scholarship. With Calgary, his first two seasons ended with injuries. Finally, he caught 102 passes for 1,444 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

That got him a shot with the Packers. He didn’t make the roster and spent the first three weeks on the practice squad. Now, the 27-year-old will make his NFL debut.

Also, the team elevated inside linebacker linebacker De’Jon Harris and defensive lineman Billy Winn from the practice squad to the active roster for gameday. Harris will provide depth with Christian Kirksey on injured reserve, and Winn once again will add depth with Kenny Clark potentially sidelined for a third consecutive game with a groin injury.

Begelton’s a terrific story and so is Winn. Last week, Winn played in his first game since Jan. 1, 2017, after suffering major injuries in the 2017 and 2019 preseasons. Winn got on the stats page by batting down a pass.

Harris, an undrafted rookie, started 36 games at linebacker for Arkansas. He spent training camp with New England and was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 9.

Countdown to Kickoff

Five Days: Five Keys to the Game

Four Days: Four Items from Inside the Falcons

Three Days: Three Reasons to Worry

Two Days: Two X-Factors

One Day: One Giant Notebook

How to Watch: And Prediction

New role for Preston Smith and new position for Oren Burks

Rodgers and LaFleur: Go with the Flow

Shepherd: Second Chance

Tackling: Taking Deeper Look

Sportsbooks: ‘Shocked’ by Packers

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