Patriots Interested In WR Golden Tate

Ian Rapoport mentioned Thursday (per Michael Giardi) that the Patriots have interest in free agent WR Golden Tate.

The Patriots are clearly in the market for receiver help and are hosting a few free agents on Thursday. 

Last month, Tate said during an appearance on the “Prostyle Podcast” podcast that he would “love” to play for the Patriots.

“Man, I would love it,” Tate said, via NBC Boston. “I would love it. That organization, they’ve proven to be champions year in and year out. They work hard, for sure. But you know where you’re going to be at the end of the season. You’re going to be looking at not going to the playoffs, but you’re going to be looking at maybe a first-round bye, which is key. 

“You gotta admire that organization. They do things right. They’ve been doing it for a long, long, long time. So, I’d definitely love to be a part of something like that and catch a few passes from ol’ Tommy Boy. Julian is a buddy of mine. I’m real good buddies with him and I’ve heard good things. Kyle Van Noy, who got traded from Detroit and has been there and has been balling out since, has said great things about the organization. I definitely would not mind going over there for sure.”

The Patriots reportedly had some interest in acquiring Tate from the Lions last year and he could give New England some additional depth at receiver, so this is at least something to watch.

Tate, 30, is a former second-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2010. He played out his rookie contract in Seattle before signing a five-year, $31 million contract that included $13.25 million with the Lions.

Tate was traded to the Eagles at the deadline last year and made a base salary of $7 million for the 2018 season. He’s testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

In 2018, Tate appeared in 15 games for the Lions and Eagles and caught 74 passes for 795 yards receiving and four touchdowns. 

We have him featured in our Top 100 Available Free Agents list.