This coming Monday, the Detroit Lions will take on the Green Bay Packers in what is being billed (by many) as a must-win for the Lions if they want to eventually win the NFC North.
Personally, I believe the Lions can lose at Lambeau and still recover nicely as the easiest part of their schedule is still in front of them. In fact, as it stands right now, I have them losing to the Packers on Monday Night Football and still winning the North.
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That being said, if the Lions not only want to win the North but to make some noise in the NFL Playoffs, they will have to upgrade a couple of positions on their current roster.
I have said it since before training camp started and I will say it again, the Lions still need to add another wide receiver to the mix if they have aspirations of making a playoff run.
Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones, as expected, have been great for the Lions so far in 2019, but they need more help than an injury-prone Danny Amendola if they really want to make things happen against elite pass defenses. Rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson has proven that he too can be a nice weapon for Matthew Stafford but there is still something missing.
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That missing piece is none other than former Lions WR, Golden Tate.
Last season, on the day before Halloween, the Lions “tricked” a lot of us by trading Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick. When the trade happened, I praised Lions’ GM Bob Quinn for getting a third-rounder in exchange for a wide receiver who was on the final year of his contract and would basically be a rental for the Eagles.
Well, that’s exactly what happened as Tate played out the season in Philly (not really doing much offensively), and then elected to sign a 4-year, $37.5 million contract with the New York Giants.
Personally, I am not a big fan of dishing out that kind of money for a receiver who is on the wrong end of 30 (Tate is now 31-years-old), UNLESS that wide receiver is believed to be the missing piece to the puzzle.
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In my opinion, Golden Tate absolutely could be the missing piece the Lions offense needs to click on all cylinders. He has a great WR/QB relationship with Matthew Stafford and still has plenty of gas left in the tank to be a difference-maker in the passing game.
The Giants are a bad football team and I believe they would be willing to give up Tate for draft capital, which the Lions have plenty of over the next couple of years.
The downside would be that Tate would be making a pretty penny in Detroit until he is 35-years-old, but it could be worth the price.
Worst case scenario? Maybe we can see some more Tate highlights like the one below!
.@ShowtimeTate.
In overtime…
FOR THE WIN!#WildPlayWednesday https://t.co/XDnCdhK27y— NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2017
