Golden Tate doesn't travel with Giants for Washington game
Giants wide receiver Golden Tate catches a touchdown pass during the second half of an NFL game against the Buccaneers on Monday. Credit: AP/Bill Kostroun
Call him Joe Grudge.
That could be the new nickname for Giants first-year coach Joe Judge, who continues to relegate veteran wide receiver Golden Tate to his doghouse in an effort to expel what he sees as a trait that could topple the foundation he is beginning to build: selfishness.
Judge and the Giants announced Saturday that Tate did not travel with the team to Washington for Sunday’s game at FedEx Field and that he will not be available to play.
It was the second time in four days that Tate was not included in team events as a form of discipline. On Wednesday, after what was described as a long conversation between the player and the coach, Tate was told to stay home and not participate in the team’s meetings or in that day’s walk-through practice.
The transgression that instigated this benching was Tate’s behavior on the field during Monday night’s loss to the Buccaneers.
Tate, who clearly has grown frustrated with his role as the team’s No. 3 receiver behind Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, was targeted only three times in that game and six times in the past three. When he made his first pass reception, he shouted to the Giants’ bench that they should throw him the ball. When he caught a late touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to bring the Giants within two of the lead, he celebrated by yelling at the television cameras: "Throw me the ball!"
Tate’s wife, Elise, posted a lengthy diatribe against the Giants on Instagram for their underuse of her husband later that evening.
Judge made it clear during the week that Tate’s attitude was far from a misdemeanor in his mind.
"First off, 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 are no exceptions for that. I’m not going to tolerate any kind of selfish behavior from anybody, a coach or a player. It’s not going to happen."
At the time, Judge also promised it would be "business as usual" once Tate returned to the team on Thursday, but it has been anything but that since. The 32-year-old receiver spent two practices lining up with scout teams while the starters prepared for the game against Washington.
Judge said on Friday that he and the coaching staff still were considering whether Tate would play on Sunday. Then, on Saturday, the Giants announced this latest and most drastic aspect of the discipline.
Given the severity of the punishment, however, there likely were plenty of heated words exchanged during the chat between Tate and Judge on Wednesday morning.
The Giants hope Tate gets the message that selfishness will not be tolerated. More important to them, though, is for the rest of the roster to learn that lesson too.
The Giants signed Tate before the 2019 season shortly after trading Odell Beckham Jr., and he was supposed to be the Tylenol to that headache. They hoped the veteran could set an example for younger players on the team. This episode may be the most valuable lesson they learn from observing him.
The Giants did not add any wide receivers, so they will go into the game with four: Shepard and Slayton along with rookie Austin Mack and C.J. Board in his first game back from a concussion.
Tate, one of the oldest players on a rebuilding team that is unlikely to contend for championships before his playing days are over, most likely would prefer to be released. He liked a tweet that suggested he should be cut and given an opportunity to sign elsewhere this week.
That is how many players force their way off teams in today’s NFL: by making themselves a social media nuisance and creating an untenable relationship.
It already has happened twice this season with the Jets, who dealt Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell to Super Bowl-caliber teams after their squeaky wheels became too much for the team to live with.
The NFL’s trade deadline passed last week without the Giants trading Tate, mostly because his age and contract (2 1⁄2 years remaining) were unattractive to buyers.
A source said the Giants have no intention of releasing Tate.
But on Sunday, they won’t play him, either.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
