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- Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight Schrute on The Office and is from Seattle, was not pleased to hear that Golden Tate signed with the Detroit Lions.
Really bummed the @Seahawks let @ShowtimeTate go. He will be missed. The @Lions are lucky to have him.
— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) March 12, 2014
- NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah thinks this is a great signing by the Lions.
I love the Golden Tate signing...Versatile weapon for the Lions.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) March 12, 2014
- As noted by Michael Rothstein, Tate was once teammates at Notre Dame with both Theo Riddick and Joseph Fauria (yes, his career started at Notre Dame), and he was once teammates with Kris Durham in Seattle.
- Tate mentioned Riddick during his introductory press conference, and he tweeted with Fauria on Wednesday night.
Among other Lions weapons, Tate mentioned his Notre Dame teammate and "old buddy" Theo Riddick.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 12, 2014@BigJoeFauria like the good ole days sir. when can we start rehearsing touchdown dances???? #lions
— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) March 13, 2014
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Richard Sherman tweeted his congratulations to Tate and joked about him having to find a new number.
@ShowtimeTate congrats big dog!!!! I know u not wearing 81 no more lol
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) March 12, 2014
- Before getting to the NFL, Tate was apparently quite the baseball player as well.
Golden Tate was drafted by the Arizona Diamond Backs (2007), S.F. Giants ('09). He hit .329 as a soph at Notre Dame. All you wanted to know.
— Mike O'Hara (@MikeOHaraNFL) March 12, 2014
- Considering what the New York Jets gave wide receiver Eric Decker, I'd say the Lions got a pretty good deal with Tate.
Lions, Golden Tate: 5yr, $31M, $13.25M guaranteed. Jets, Eric Decker: 5yr, $36.25M, $15M guaranteed. I think Tate is better than Decker.
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) March 13, 2014
- Presented without comment:
Pumped to have golden Tate..But probably more excited to have his girlfriend! #oowieoowie http://t.co/5l376T4PiY
— Kelly Hall (@kellybhall) March 12, 2014
- According to Rothstein, Kevin Ogletree's one-year deal with the Lions has a cap hit of only $635,000. Ogletree officially signed the deal on Wednesday, by the way. The Lions also officially re-signed restricted free agent Joique Bell and exclusive-rights free agents Durham and Matt Veldman on Wednesday. Julian Stanford, another exclusive-rights free agent, officially re-signed on Tuesday.
- The Lions were in some pretty good company with teams that didn't sign any outside free agents on the first day of the 2014 league year.
OK, thanks to you all, here's the 12 who didn't sign anyone else's FAs yet: GB, DET, STL, DAL, CAR, KC, NYJ, NE, HOU, BALT, SEA, CIN
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) March 12, 2014
- Martin Mayhew was at UCLA's pro day (likely to watch Anthony Barr) on the first day of free agency.
- Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans is scheduled to visit the Lions at some point in the lead-up to the 2014 NFL Draft. I'd bet they bring in quite a few receivers this year for visits.
- The Denver Broncos continued their spending spree on Wednesday by agreeing to a three-year deal worth $30 million (with $20 million guaranteed) with defensive end DeMarcus Ware.
- After being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, cornerback Darrelle Revis quickly agreed to a one-year deal worth $12 million with the New England Patriots.
- Quarterback Josh McCown got quite the deal from the Buccaneers: two years, $10 million and up to another $5 million via incentives and bonuses.