Golden Tate signs with Lions

[.infamous]

The Lions have a need for a receiver to put across from Calvin Johnson and it looks like they have their sights set on Golden Tate.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Tate will visit with the Lions on Tuesday night. As youd imagine given the timing, it is the first visit for Tate since free agency opened and it wouldnt be surprising if it wound up being the only visit given Detroits need at the position.

Tate had 64 catches for 898 yards and five touchdowns for the Seahawks last season and served as the teams top receiver for most of the season. He wouldnt have to play that role in Detroit with Megatron on the field, which could work out well for quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Lions offense as a whole.

Tate, the 26th-ranked player on PFTs Hot 100 list of free agents, said last week that he hadnt heard much from the Seahawks. They may be waiting for the market to give them a sense of Tates value, as they did with defensive end Michael Bennett, but the Lions could make the Seahawks strategy moot if they come up with the right offer.

 

[Pugz]

would be nice to land him as our #2 guy and go defense in the draft

 

[Mobruler]

I agree that if the #2 WR is their big haul in FA, that's fine.  
 
Would have been really nice if Ndamukong Suh would have hired his fucking agent before last Friday and actually started talking about and finalized his extension before today.  That way the Lions could like have a lot more immediate cap space to try and sign one of those high tier secondary players.
 
Instead, after re-signing Joique Bell this morning, they went into FA with 9~ mil.  Tate will take a big chunk of that.

 

[RipCity32]

I like Tate, but we certainly shouldn't throw too much cash at him.

 

[Pugz]

Golden Tate five-year deal with the Lions, per the team's website.
3:34pm - 12 Mar 14

 

[Pugz]

Josina Anderson @JosinaAnderson
Follow
Golden Tate to me just now: "Yes I am taking the deal (with the Lions). It is a 5-year deal for $31M and $13.25M guaranteed."
3:57 PM - 12 Mar 2014

 

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

Should be a nice compliment to Calvin Johnson. Now they can focus on CB with their first pick in the draft. 

 

[Mobruler]

Tate seems to have very reliable hands. Did Stafford's completion percentage just go up by 2 by adding Tate and losing Pettigrew who drops everything?

 

[RipCity32]

Good sign. Not too bad of a deal, with not that much being guaranteed. All the drops we've had collectively as a team, we needed a guy like him who has some sure hands.
 
Also Dustin, wouldn't be surprised at all if we still went WR in the 1st round. 

 

[elcheato]

This seems like a lot. Not a huge fan of Tate. Lions needed a receiver tho

 

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

Good sign. Not too bad of a deal, with not that much being guaranteed. All the drops we've had collectively as a team, we needed a guy like him who has some sure hands.
 
Also Dustin, wouldn't be surprised at all if we still went WR in the 1st round. 

 
Why? Just signed good money for a #2 WR. The dire need of a WR is no longer there. Of course they could use another but I don't think it would be smart to draft a WR in the first round after they just picked one up in free agency. They could easily find a #3 WR in the second round. Absolutely no CB on the team with guys like Gilbert and Dennard available and they are going to draft a WR? I think that would be stupid. Hello Lions! You need a secondary. Who is going to start at safety now that Delmas is gone? Mathis is a free agent. I know they got guys like Slay and Bentley, along with Houston but that is not gonna cut it. Houston isn't even very good imo. 

 

[Pugz]

apparently if a top wide out is there, wed take him. i don't see the need, but im not complaining. tate should improve under a pass happy offense and with calvin on the other side.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

This seems like a lot. Not a huge fan of Tate. Lions needed a receiver tho

Think it depends on how much he is used. Does signing him mean Stafford is going to start looking away from Calvin more?

If he ends up having like 550 yards, is it an overpay?

 

[RipCity32]

Why? Just signed good money for a #2 WR. The dire need of a WR is no longer there. Of course they could use another but I don't think it would be smart to draft a WR in the first round after they just picked one up in free agency. They could easily find a #3 WR in the second round. Absolutely no CB on the team with guys like Gilbert and Dennard available and they are going to draft a WR? I think that would be stupid. Hello Lions! You need a secondary. Who is going to start at safety now that Delmas is gone? Mathis is a free agent. I know they got guys like Slay and Bentley, along with Houston but that is not gonna cut it. Houston isn't even very good imo.

Cause we only have 2 good WRs on the roster now. We still need one more.

 

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

Cause we only have 2 good WRs on the roster now. We still need one more.

 
Round 2 or later. Watkins probably won't be there at #10 anyway

 

[Mobruler]

If they want to add another offensive weapon at 10, I'd kind of prefer Ebron over Evans and put it at TE. 0% chance Watkins is available at 10 unless he gets arrested for beating up his mom within the next few weeks.

 

[baltimore_boy]

Think it depends on how much he is used. Does signing him mean Stafford is going to start looking away from Calvin more?

If he ends up having like 550 yards, is it an overpay?

 
 
I doubt he ends up at 550. The #2 spot on the Lions never really produces because of the lack of talent. They've never had a good guy to put on the other side of Calvin. Calvin's numbers will fall a little, but Tate will still get plenty of catches and yards. It's not an overpay at all. He's a good reciever but went unnoticed because he was stuck in Seattle's run dominated offense. I like the signing for the Lions.
 
And I also don't see why they'd take a WR in the 1st round. They need a CB. Take Gilbert in the first, and someone like Jordan Matthews or Odell Beckham in the second.

 

[Mobruler]

That's just not really true.  Nate Burleson had some good production in that role when he did play.  He missed the majority of the past two seasons due to injury, but the two seasons before that he had production totals higher than what you think Tate won't do and he didn't even play all 16 in those two seasons either.
 
I'd like to think Tate is a better receiver than what Nate was.  
 
Tate is a nice YAC guy and a nice hands guy.  I like him quite a bit.  I think people have this distorted opinion of him because his stats weren't gaudy in Seattle without taking Seattle's offensive philosophy into account.  I mean, how many times did Russell Wilson even attempt more than 25 passes in a game?

 

[TTN2810]

Bad signing. Over paid for an overrated WR. They could easily get a much better WR in the second round for a fraction of the money. 45th pick last year got a 4 year $4.4 million deal, compared to this 5 year $31 million.
 
Would much rather have a Allen Robinson, Davante Adams, Jordan Matthews, Paul Richardson, Jarvis Landry, or Martavis Bryant at 45 than Tate, who couldn't even be a #1 WR on the Seahawks. All of those guys have diverse talent and the Lions could have picked any skill set they wanted, really.
 
This is going to look like a good signing even during the year because anyone mildly talented could play opposite CJ and put up some stats in that offense. I'd rather not take that money away from somewhere else on the roster when a cheaper, better option is available. 
 
EDIT
Not to mention, all of those guys I listed have #1 WR potential, too. When the rookie 4 year deal is done, Calvin will be 32 shortly after the start of the next season. They'll be in need of a #1, and that guy could be groomed to be that. 

 

[elcheato]

I understand the points you're making, and I agree about Tate being overrated but you can't just look at it in a dollar amount like that. A 2nd round pick is very valuable. You're paying the price of that contract AND the 45th pick. Now they can look else where with the pick.