Giants sign wide receiver Golden Tate to 4-year, $37.5 million deal

The New York Giants have signed wide receiver Golden Tate, as tweeted by CAA Sports

The Giants had to make moves to flesh out a receiving corps left depleted following the trade of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns.

Per Adam Schefter, it’s a four-year deal worth a total of $37.5 million, with $23 million guaranteed.

Tate was originally drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, where he spent the next four seasons before signing with the Detroit Lions as a free agent in 2015. Tate was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in late October of 2018 for a third-round pick. All told last year, he caught 74 passes on 113 targets (65.5 percent) for 795 yards and four touchdowns and 53 yards per game.

While those numbers are OK, they represent a clear decline from his average of 93 receptions, 1,000 yards, and catching roughly 70 percent of passes over the previous four years. Football Outsiders named him the second-worst receiver of 2018, with a -134 DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement), and a DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) of -22.3 percent with the Lions and -36.9 percent with the Eagles.

The Giants will clearly be hoping that Tate, who will be 31 years old when the season starts, rebounds in a new situation and offensive scheme, and provides a veteran presence for what otherwise looks like a very young receiving room.