It’s been an eventful few days in the life of Giants receiver Golden Tate. The disgruntled veteran blasted teammate Daniel Jones for not targeting him enough Monday night, while his wife, watching from home, shared a similar sentiment on Instagram, ripping the Giants for making Tate an afterthought in the loss to Tampa Bay. Fed up with the drama surrounding Tate (who traded blows with Rams loose cannon Jalen Ramsey in a post-game scrap earlier this year), the G-Men explored moving him at Tuesday’s trade deadline, but came up empty in that pursuit.
Tate and rookie head coach Joe Judge have since hashed things out, though the 32-year-old wasn’t in attendance for Wednesday’s walkthrough with the team officially listing him as a “non-injury-related” DNP. Judge elaborated on the matter in his afternoon press conference, indicating Tate will resume practicing Thursday following Wednesday’s apparent benching.
“I spoke to Golden at length today. We’re dealing internally with a lot of things,” said Judge. “He’s not going to be at the walkthrough today, but he will be back in the building and practicing with us the remainder of the week.”
Judge was predictably tight-lipped when pressed by Newsday’s Tom Rock, who asked if Tate’s absence Wednesday was for disciplinary reasons. “He’s not going to be with us today but he’s going to be back tomorrow,” said Judge, failing to shed any additional light on the situation. “Again, it’s a walkthrough today. We’ll be on the grass tomorrow practicing. I’m just going to leave it at that.”
So there you have it, the Giants are having a walkthrough. Holding a Wednesday walkthrough in place of padded practice is standard operating procedure for teams coming off Monday Night Football, giving players an extra day to heal while still getting in mental reps on a short week. Judge seems hopeful that Tate’s conflict with the team will soon be water under the bridge, but in a season where nothing has gone as planned for the Giants, it’s only a matter of time until those frustrations boil over.
Tate is in the second year of a four-year deal with New York, though the Giants can cut him loose with minimal cap repercussions this offseason if tensions persist. A one-time Pro Bowler with three 1,000-yard receiving seasons (all as a member of the Detroit Lions), Tate has corralled 22 of his 29 targets for 226 yards and two touchdowns this season. One of his two end-zone visits came in the waning moments of Week 8. New York had a chance to tie it but couldn’t convert the two-point conversion after Tate’s touchdown, allowing the visiting Buccaneers to escape with a narrow 25-23 victory in East Rutherford.
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