Former Eagles wide receiver Golden Tate to sign with Giants
The deal is worth $37.5 million with $23 million guaranteed.
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Golden Tate will stay in the NFC East after agreeing to a four-year deal with the New York Giants, according to Tate’s agency, and he’ll step into an offense that traded top wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to Cleveland this week.
The deal is worth $37.5 million, with $23 million guaranteed, according to ESPN. The Eagles will be in position to receive a 2020 compensatory pick for Tate’s exit.
Tate joined the Eagles in a midseason trade from the Detroit Lions. The Eagles surrendered a 2019 third-round pick to bring in Tate, but they could never maximize his ability in the offense. Tate finished with 30 catches for 278 yards and one touchdown in eight regular season games for the Eagles; he also had seven catches for 74 yards and a touchdown in two postseason games, including the game-winning touchdown in the wild-card round win over Chicago.
“When we made the trade, we were 4-4. We were looking for a spark," top executive Howie Roseman said after the season. "We were looking for more firepower on offense. When you talk about Golden, here is a guy who has incredible character, incredible production, can really fit any scheme. Everyone in this building was incredibly excited about adding him to our football team. We knew the price to pay.
“We wanted to make a playoff run. We wanted to make sure that we were putting our team in a position to do that. And we’re always going to put our foot on the gas. It doesn’t mean we’re always going to be right, but we don’t look back with regret. We look back at our process, and I feel very good about our process.”
The Eagles were not in position to retain Tate after acquiring DeSean Jackson and keeping Nelson Agholor. But, they’ll need to figure out a defensive game plan against him, because Tate will be a key player for the Giants. Although it appeared as though the Giants might be rebuilding after trading Beckham and Olivier Vernon and letting Landon Collins leave in free agency, the addition of the 30-year-old Tate might suggest otherwise. He joins Sterling Shepard in their receiving corps, with Evan Engram at tight end and Saquon Barkley at running back.