Would it be prudent for NY Giants to move on from Golden Tate?

Golden Tate put himself – and the NY Giants – in a precarious position when he flunked a PED test. Now, the team can easily financially move on from him.

When Dave Gettleman signed a 31-year-old Golden Tate to a big deal – shortly after trading Odell Beckham Jr. (which seemed to signify a NY Giants rebuild coming ) it was always a curious decision.

For starters – as has been the case many times with Gettleman – the moved seemed to be at odds with the direction the team appeared to be and should have been, heading. Signing a 31-year-old receiver to a huge contract doesn’t exactly go in line with a proper rebuild.

Next – and this is the biggest problem – Tate’s skillset is incredibly redundant with Sterling Shepard, who also was given a large contract of his own in the off-season. With both receivers’ strong suit being working out of the slot, one of them would typically have to work on the outside when both are on the field, where separation is pivotal (something Tate struggled mightily with in 2019).

Tate would up performing admirably with Big Blue in 2019, racking up 676 yards and six touchdowns in 11 games. However, the reason he only played 11 games is the issue at hand, as news breaking of Tate flunking a PED test shortly after signing with the team landed him a four-game suspension.

The suspension significantly hindered the offense out of the gates, but truly, it is a blessing in disguise and a means to an end for Gettleman to move on from one of his biggest mistakes with little financial damage. All of Tate’s guaranteed money became voided the minute he was suspended, and the team can now move on from him while only taking a small hit on his 2019 signing bonus, spread out over four years.

The NY Giants are loaded with cap space – upwards of $60M – and that’s before the team will undoubtedly move on from several underwhelming players, which should free up another $20M or so. Adding Tate’s $10.5M cap charge to the equation can only help matters.

The question comes down to this – can the NY Giants do more to help this team in 2020 and beyond with that $10.5M than keep an aging slot receiver around? My answer to that question is a resounding yes, as they should at least be able to find a much younger receiver on the open market that is a better compliment to Jason Garrett’s scheme for around the same amount, or even less.

So while outside of his PED suspension, Tate has been a model NY Giant – saying all the right things – this is a tough business. Golden Tate has no one else but himself to blame for getting suspended (even if you believe his fertility claims, he should have reached out to the league prior to taking any medication) he opened the door for this to happen.

Time for Dave Gettleman to act.