Giants sign veteran receiver Tate to four-year deal
The Giants are rebuilding, but evidently they are also gearing up for what they hope will be a successful Eli Manning farewell tour.
New York signed free agent wide receiver Golden Tate on Thursday to a four-year, $37.5 million deal which includes $23 million fully guaranteed, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
That is a relatively hefty amount of money for a player who turns 31 years old in August and declined last season.
In seven games with the Lions and eight games with the Eagles, Tate compiled 74 catches, 795 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He went over 1,000 yards in three of the previous four seasons.
Philadelphia acquired Tate from Detroit last October in exchange for a third-round draft pick. He had five catches for 46 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles’ NFC Wild Card playoff win against the Bears.
The Giants desperately needed receiver depth after trading superstar Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns on Wednesday. Their lone proven commodity is Sterling Shepard, who has mostly played in the slot while totaling 2,286 yards and 14 touchdowns in three seasons.
The other five wideouts currently on the Giants’ depth chart — Corey Coleman, Jawill Davis, Brittan Golden, Quadree Henderson, Alonzo Russell — have a combined 83 catches, 1,122 yards and six touchdowns in their careers.
That doesn’t include talented pass-catching tight end Evan Engram, who despite missing six games due to injury has 1,299 yards and nine touchdowns through his first two seasons.
New York, of course, also has running back Saquon Barkley, a rising star who finished second in the league in rushing as a rookie with 1,307 yards despite a subpar offensive line. Barkley totaled 2,028 allpurpose yards.
According to Nick Korte of overthecap.com, the Eagles gain a fourth-round 2020 compensatory pick for losing Tate in free agency. For the Giants, the signing cancels out the fifth-round compensatory pick they previously received for losing offensive lineman Jamon Brown to the Falcons.
The Giants also signed 15th-year veteran safety Antoine Bethea to a two-year contract and resigned cornerback Tony Lippett. Bethea played under Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher in 2017, when Bettcher served in the same capacity with the Cardinals.
With cornerback B.W. Webb reportedly reaching a contract agreement with the Bengals, the Giants’ secondary depth currently is a bit shallow.
Lippett, Janoris Jenkins, Sam Beal, Grant Haley, Michael Hunter and Ronald Zamort are the cornerbacks, while Bethea, Jabrill Peppers (acquired Wednesday from Cleveland), Michael Thomas, Sean Chandler, Kamrin Moore and Kenny Ladler are the safeties.