Report: Golden Tate set to visit Lions
Mar 11, 2014, 3:48 PM | Updated: 3:57 pm
By Brady Henderson
Golden Tate wanted to test the market before signing his next deal, and his first suitor has emerged.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the free-agent wide receiver is visiting the Lions Tuesday night.
The mutual interest makes sense. Detroit is in the market for a No. 2 wide receiver to pair with Calvin Johnson after releasing Nate Burleson. And the fact that the Lions attempted more passes than all but four teams last season would be appealing to any receiver, especially one like Tate who has spent his four NFL seasons in a run-first offense.
Riley Cooper’s five-year, $22.5 million deal with Philadelphia established what could be viewed as a baseline for Tate, who has positioned himself for something greater after finishing out his rookie contract with the best season of his career. Tate was Seattle’s leading receiver in 2013, catching 64 passes for 898 yards and five touchdowns as Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice spent most of the season on the sideline.
Tate has expressed a strong desire to return to Seattle, where he began his career as a second-round pick in 2010. But the deal the Seahawks just gave Michael Bennett and the money they must set aside to extend other key players could temper Seattle’s offer to Tate, especially with another receiver, Harvin, already making an average of $11 million a season.
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