Golden Tate will not suit up this Sunday. Joe Judge has decided that Tate will not make the trip to Washington.
After a tumultous week full of speculation, Golden Tate will not be playing in Washington on Sunday. Tate did not travel with the team today after being told not to come to the facility Wednesday and then running scout-team offense on Thursday.
There was a lot of talk this week about what Tate’s role would look like this week after a controversial game against Tampa Bay where twice he was seen on ESPN saying, “Give me the ball”, his wife went on a tirade on Instagram, and Tate liked a Twitter post stating the NY Giants should cut him.
“We still have two days of practice to go through and I’ll evaluate everything and make decisions on the back-end of today with what we’ll do going into the weekend,” Judge said prior to Friday’s practice.
It turns out the decision was made for Tate to not suit up for NY.
Joe Judge has emphasized a team-over-everything approach since January. No player is bigger or more important then the team.
“It has to be team-first for everyone in this building,” Judge said Wednesday. “Every coach and every player. It has to be team first. There can be no exceptions, for that. I can’t tolerate selfish from anyone, coach or player”.
Joe Judge laid down the law and benched Tate for this week’s divisional game. This move sends a message to the team that selfishness won’t be acceptable and nobody can put themselves before their teammates.
With Tate out, expect young receivers such as Corey Coleman and Austin Mack to carry the load as the team’s third receiver. It will also free up Sterling Shepard to move to his natural position in the slot.