Sunday open thread: Should the Lions extend Golden Tate next year?

A day after Golden Tate made it know via Twitter that he’s interested in getting a contract extension, he doubled down on Saturday. Speaking with media at Sam Martin’s Celebrity Softball event, Tate said bluntly that he thinks he’s being underpaid. “I’d love to stay here. I’m having a lot of fun,” Tate told the Detroit Free Press. “We have a great foundation, I love where we’re going but we’ll see.”

Tate’s interest in an extension stems from Patriots receiver Julian Edelman getting an additional two years on his contract this past Thursday.

Tate still has two years left on his contract, and they are both pretty loaded. He’ll be making base salaries of $6 and 7 million respectively, but Detroit has had Tate on a bargain for the past three years—all of which Tate has led the Lions in receptions. In fact, Tate is one of just four receivers who have had 90 or more catches in each of the past three years.

But next year Tate will enter the 2018 season at the ripe age of 30. He likely only has a few more contracts left in his NFL career. So today’s Question of the Day is:

Should the Detroit Lions extend Golden Tate in 2018?

My answer: Right now, I don’t see a reason why not. Granted Tate will be on the downswing of his career by next offseason (if he isn’t already), but Tate remains an integral part to this offense. Detroit does have a lot of young talent filling out the bottom of their roster, but none have proven anything in-game yet.

Obviously the answer to this question is very dependent on what Tate will be demanding. While Detroit got him for cheap in the first three years of his contract, the Lions will be taking on cap hits of over $8 million this year and over $9 million next. Ideally, the Lions would be able to get that number down for next year, while giving Tate the extra years he wants.

If Tate is demanding a steep increase in pay, the Lions may be wise to move on. Edelman, who not only has very similar stats to Tate, but just signed his extension at 31 years olds, only signed a two-year, $11 million extension. His cap hits are now between $5 and $8 million over the next three years, and he’s only making a base salary of $2 million for 2018 and 2019. (Pats Pulpit has a great breakdown of the Edelman figures here.)

Those are the kind of numbers Tate should be eyeing. But if he thinks more of himself, the Lions may need to give him the cold shoulder in 2018.

Your turn.