Golden Tate: I want to retire a Detroit Lion

For nearly an entire year, Detroit Lions receiver Golden Tate has made it very clear that he wants to get paid soon. It all started back in June of 2017 when Julian Edelman received a modest two-year, $11 million extension. Even though the figures were low, it still caught the attention of the Lions receiver:

Since then, Tate has been extremely public about his desire to be the next receiver to get an extension. That desire was only exacerbated earlier this offseason when Jarvis Landry signed a humongous five-year, $75.5 million extension.

While a contract like that would likely be way too pricey for the Lions to afford, Tate made it clear on Friday night during the Detroit Free Press Sports Awards that he wants to remain in Detroit for the rest of his playing career:

These comments match those made by Tate earlier in the month from a phone interview with the Free Press.

“I love where I am now,” Tate told Dave Birkett last week. “I love the city of Detroit, I love the fan base, I love our stadium, so I’d love to just stay here, finish it here. And then hang ‘em up in five, six, seven years, whenever it is. Whenever my body tells me I can’t play anymore.”

When asked about potentially extending Tate, the Lions have remained quiet, insisting those sort of talks would take place later in the offseason. General manager Bob Quinn said during the owner’s meetings in April that negotiations with Tate had not begun yet.

“I think all those things in my time here have happened in the summer,” Quinn said. “I think our concentration and our focus right now is on the draft. Things that come down the road after that, they’ll come and go and we’ll talk through it.”

But with the draft now in the past, organized team activities on the horizon and training camp not too far away, we may start to see if the Lions have any real intention of fulfilling Tate’s desire and making him a Lion for the rest of his career.