Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Birds trade for Lions’ WR Tate
PHILADELPHIA >> Predictably and on time, and with the strong message the Eagles have provided for years, Howie Roseman acquired wide receiver Golden Tate from the Detroit Lions for a third-round draft choice Tuesday.
With that, the Eagles’ director of football operations provided Carson Wentz with a valuable tool and the NFL with a reminder that the 4-4 Eagles are not yet ready to retreat into rebuilding.
Tate, 30, is a 5-foot-10, 197-pound receiver known for his sticky hands and ability to pass stripes after catches. A secondround, 2010 draft choice of the Seahawks out of Notre Dame, Tate was in his fifth season with the Lions, who signed him to a five-year, $31 million free-agent deal in 2014.
Since Tate’s contract will expire at the end of the season, the Eagles effectively have exchanged a high draft choice for a rental player. But their willingness to maximize Wentz’s talent is an indication that they believe they will reach the playoffs and, perhaps, more.
“He’s 30 years old and a tremendously productive player,” Roseman said, in a news conference at the NovaCare Complex. “And, at the end of the day, the price is what it is. When you look around the league and what the market is for these guys, there is no one more productive than Golden Tate. Since 2012, he’s in the top 10 in receiving yards and receptions. His run-after-thecatch numbers are phenomenal. They’re always at the top of the league.
“So, we’re really excited to get him.”
With the Eagles in their scheduled bye week, no players or coaches were immediately available to comment. However, Tate and Wentz shared their enthusiasm on Twitter.
“It’s been real, Detroit,” Tate tweeted. “I’ll love ya forever. Philly Philly, let’s get it!!”
Responded Wentz: “Let’s roll my man! Excited to compete with ya!”
Through eight games, including a 24-18 victory Sunday in London over Jacksonville, the Eagles have scored 178 points, or 22.25 per game. For that, Roseman was determined to beat the 4 p.m. NFL trade deadline Tuesday and add another offensive weapon.
“This is a guy we have had so much respect for as a competitor and playing against him and watching him play and seeing him in cross tape,” Roseman said. “Seeing what he brings on the field, off the field, to the practice field, the competitiveness, that’s what we are looking for. Not that we don’t have that now, but it’s just going to raise the level of everyone. We are so excited to acquire him.”
Among the reasons for the Eagles’ season-long offensive slump have been potentially season-ending injuries to receivers Mike Wallace and Mack Hollins, the loss of running back Jay Ajayi for the season, and the chronic unavailability of the injured Darren Sproles.
But at .500, and with five NFC East games remaining, a defense of their world championship is still in the Eagles’ sight.
“We have to continue to get better on third down,” Pederson said Monday. “Our red-zone efficiency has got to improve in the second half of the season. We have to score more points. Those are things that I take note of, obviously. As a play caller, I get to control that some.
“We just have to keep improving. We have to get better.”
Tate should help the Eagles in those areas. In seven games this season, he had three touchdowns and 517 receiving yards, and in 2014 he made the Pro Bowl after accumulating 1,331 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Tate has made 581 career receptions, good for 6,936 yards, an average of 11.9 yards per catch. He has scored 37 touchdowns. His 3,910 yards after catches are a league-high since he entered the NFL in 2010. He played both football and baseball at Notre Dame, and was a 2007 draft choice of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“We know this is an incredibly smart guy and an incredibly hard worker,” Roseman said. “We feel very confident that a lot of things we are doing here are things that he’s done in the past.”
Though the Eagles could have used some help at cornerback and on the defensive line, Roseman made only the one trade-deadline deal. To fit Tate onto the roster, the Birds waived defensive tackle Bruce Hector.
“For us, this is a player who’s a playmaker,” Roseman said. “You just can’t put him into a position. He’s so good with the ball in his hands. He can play inside and out. He’s got return experience as well. He doesn’t just fit in a box. He can help in a lot of different ways when we look at our skill positions as a whole. And maybe with some of the guys we have coming back, we’re really excited to get going here for the second half of the season.”