Golden Tate: I left Seattle to ‘catch more balls, make Pro Bowls’
When Golden Tate left the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks in March, he did it in a way that left a sour taste in most Seattle fans’ mouths.
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The former lead Seahawks receiver had originally said he would be willing to take a financial discount to stay with the team, then suddenly left to sign with the Detroit Lions saying he felt “undervalued” in Seattle.
“I didn’t mean a 40 percent discount,” Tate said after signing with the Lions in March. “I’m going to earn in one year at Detroit what Seattle was going to pay me for two years. Seattle offered numbers that were laughable. I thought, ‘I’ve given you everything and this is what you give me?'”
Detroit gave him a five-year, $31 million contract to serve as Calvin Johnson‘s wing man.
Seattle had little trouble replacing him on the offense, re-signing Sidney Rice and drafting Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood.
Perhaps because he is still bitter about how his time ended in Seattle, on Monday, Tate wasn’t finished talking.
In an interview with ESPN’s “First Take,” Tate said that he has a chance to do better things in Detroit than he did in Seattle:
"“I hated being tackled (last year) because I didn’t know when my next ball was going to come,” Tate said. “I have a chance to catch more balls and make Pro Bowls (in Detroit).”“I think if I can stay healthy, God forbid, it’s going to be fun. I have a chance to catch a ton more balls. I’m going to see a lot of single coverage. I’m probably going to see a lot of No. 2 and No. 3 cornerbacks because everyone’s going to be on No. 81 (Calvin Johnson). I’m excited.”"
Tate led the Seahawks with 64 receptions last year. Those catches led to 898 yards, both of which were career-highs for Tate.
The Seahawks still have a run-first offense powered by Marshawn Lynch and Christine Michael for the forseeable future, but most of Seattle’s receivers have already bought into that.
Tate got his money and will probably get his statistics in Detriot, but the Seahawks have a better chance of winning rings right now.
Looks like it worked out for both sides.