Report: Golden Tate plans to play vs. Steelers

The Detroit Lions had some bad injury luck in New Orleans two weeks ago. Several players suffered what appeared to be serious injuries against the Saints, including left tackle Greg Robinson, safety Glover Quin and wide receiver Golden Tate.

Detroit already got good news this week, as Quin cleared concussion protocol, and now it appears they’re getting even better news. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Golden Tate is planning to play on Sunday, too.

Tate injured his shoulder in the second half against the Saints after taking a hard shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Initial reports diagnosed Tate with an AC joint sprain and NFL Network was reporting that Tate would miss a few weeks. Just last weekend, Tate was seen sporting a sling on his right arm. There seemed little chance he would play.

However, Tate practiced in all three sessions this week, albeit in a limited fashion. Late in the week, Tate tweeted out this vague GIF suggesting he had just gotten some good news:

It now appears that good news may have been a go-ahead from team doctors. And Tate returns to the lineup at just the perfect time. Lions rookie receiver Kenny Golladay was on schedule for a return this week, but appears to have suffered a setback. After practicing on Wednesday, Golladay sat out of Thursday and Friday’s practice and has already been declared out for Sunday.

But with Tate looking like he’ll play against the Steelers, the Lions will have their biggest offensive threat. Tate currently leads the team in receptions (36) and receiving yards (363).