Golden Tate thought he wouldn’t get traded before the trade deadline. He turned out to be wrong. The veteran wideout has been traded by the Detroit Lions to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a third-round pick, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Eagles had been looking for another wideout for most of the season after Mike Wallace went down with a broken leg, and they’ve now landed one of the best ones available.
Tate spent the past four and a half seasons with the Lions, where he emerged as one of the most consistent receivers in the entire league. He’s caught at least 90 passes in all four of his full seasons in Detroit.
He is still on course to keep that impressive streak going this year as he has 44 catches through seven games to go along with 517 yards and three touchdowns.
Tate, who had recently been linked with the New England Patriots, will now join an Eagles wide receiving depth chart that features Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews.
The Eagles, who are on a bye this week, will have time to integrate Tate into their system before he makes his debut in their next game, which will be against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 12. They're hoping his addition can provide the spark they need to take control of the NFC East after an uneven 4-4 first half of the season.
As for the Lions, they still have two reliable receivers in Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay, who figures to see a much bigger role within the offense now that Tate is out of town.