Story this weekend with Golden Tate saying he looking at signing with a handful of teams, mentioning the Colts, Rams and Titans as potential landing spots. It's not clear if the feeling is mutual with any of these teams. Fantasy-wise, a Tate signing would be a negative for the young wideouts on those rosters, and wouldn't necessarily translate into fantasy relevance for him.
Tate turns 33 in August, and while that age isn't a killer for veteran wide receivers, it hasn't yielded a lot of strong starters, either. Since 2000, there have been 52 wideouts of that age or older who have finished as top-30 players (PPR scoring) at their position. Just 23 different players (with Hall of Famers like Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens and Tim Brown accounting for a good chunk of those seasons). Tate has had a very good career, including a bunch of 90-catch seasons with former Lion and new Ram quarterback Matthew Stafford, but his last three seasons -- mostly with the Eagles and Giants -- don't suggest he has another season of that type in him.
OLDER WIDEOUTS WITH TOP-30 SEASONS, 2000-PRESENT | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Age | Tgt | No | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | Rk |
2019 | Julian Edelman, N.E. | 33 | 153 | 100 | 1117 | 11.2 | 6 | 258.8 | 7 |
2018 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 35 | 112 | 69 | 734 | 10.6 | 6 | 186.0 | 26 |
2017 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 34 | 161 | 109 | 1156 | 10.6 | 6 | 263.7 | 5 |
2016 | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 33 | 150 | 107 | 1023 | 9.6 | 6 | 245.8 | 11 |
2014 | Steve Smith Sr., Balt. | 35 | 134 | 79 | 1065 | 13.5 | 6 | 221.5 | 18 |
2014 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 34 | 130 | 83 | 1062 | 12.8 | 5 | 219.6 | 19 |
2014 | Roddy White, Atl. | 33 | 125 | 80 | 921 | 11.5 | 7 | 214.1 | 21 |
2014 | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 33 | 146 | 85 | 936 | 11.0 | 3 | 196.6 | 28 |
2013 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 33 | 129 | 85 | 1179 | 13.9 | 7 | 246.0 | 15 |
2012 | Reggie Wayne, Ind. | 34 | 195 | 106 | 1355 | 12.8 | 5 | 271.0 | 8 |
2012 | Steve Smith Sr., Car. | 33 | 137 | 73 | 1174 | 16.1 | 4 | 217.1 | 20 |
2011 | Reggie Wayne, Ind. | 33 | 132 | 75 | 960 | 12.8 | 4 | 195.0 | 25 |
2010 | Terrell Owens, Cin. | 37 | 139 | 72 | 983 | 13.7 | 9 | 224.3 | 17 |
2010 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 36 | 100 | 61 | 802 | 13.2 | 7 | 183.2 | 28 |
2009 | Hines Ward, Pitt. | 33 | 137 | 95 | 1167 | 12.3 | 6 | 247.7 | 12 |
2009 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 35 | 134 | 73 | 1028 | 14.1 | 7 | 218.0 | 17 |
2009 | Donald Driver, G.B. | 34 | 113 | 70 | 1061 | 15.2 | 6 | 213.4 | 19 |
2009 | Terrell Owens, Buff. | 36 | 109 | 55 | 829 | 15.1 | 5 | 179.3 | 27 |
2008 | Terrell Owens, Dall. | 35 | 140 | 69 | 1052 | 15.3 | 10 | 237.5 | 11 |
2008 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 34 | 121 | 80 | 1037 | 13.0 | 5 | 216.0 | 20 |
2008 | Donald Driver, G.B. | 33 | 116 | 74 | 1012 | 13.7 | 5 | 205.6 | 22 |
2008 | Muhsin Muhammad, Car. | 35 | 107 | 65 | 923 | 14.2 | 5 | 187.3 | 28 |
2007 | Terrell Owens, Dall. | 34 | 141 | 81 | 1355 | 16.7 | 15 | 307.0 | 3 |
2007 | Bobby Engram, Sea. | 34 | 134 | 94 | 1147 | 12.2 | 6 | 244.7 | 12 |
2007 | Derrick Mason, Balt. | 33 | 164 | 103 | 1087 | 10.6 | 5 | 241.7 | 14 |
2007 | Joey Galloway, T.B. | 36 | 98 | 57 | 1014 | 17.8 | 6 | 194.5 | 26 |
2006 | Marvin Harrison, Ind. | 34 | 148 | 95 | 1366 | 14.4 | 12 | 303.6 | 1 |
2006 | Terrell Owens, Dall. | 33 | 150 | 85 | 1180 | 13.9 | 13 | 283.0 | 2 |
2006 | Joey Galloway, T.B. | 35 | 143 | 62 | 1057 | 17.1 | 7 | 210.6 | 21 |
2006 | Isaac Bruce, St.L. | 34 | 126 | 74 | 1098 | 14.8 | 3 | 203.8 | 23 |
2006 | Keyshawn Johnson, Car. | 34 | 128 | 70 | 815 | 11.6 | 4 | 181.9 | 28 |
2006 | Muhsin Muhammad, Chi. | 33 | 117 | 60 | 863 | 14.4 | 5 | 176.3 | 30 |
2005 | Joey Galloway, T.B. | 34 | 152 | 83 | 1287 | 15.5 | 10 | 272.1 | 7 |
2005 | Marvin Harrison, Ind. | 33 | 134 | 82 | 1146 | 14.0 | 12 | 268.6 | 9 |
2005 | Rod Smith, Den. | 35 | 126 | 85 | 1105 | 13.0 | 6 | 232.2 | 13 |
2005 | Keenan McCardell, S.D. | 35 | 108 | 70 | 917 | 13.1 | 9 | 216.3 | 17 |
2005 | Jimmy Smith, Jac. | 36 | 128 | 70 | 1023 | 14.6 | 6 | 208.3 | 21 |
2005 | Keyshawn Johnson, Dall. | 33 | 123 | 71 | 839 | 11.8 | 6 | 193.2 | 26 |
2004 | Rod Smith, Den. | 34 | 136 | 79 | 1144 | 14.5 | 7 | 238.7 | 15 |
2004 | Jimmy Smith, Jac. | 35 | 137 | 74 | 1172 | 15.8 | 6 | 227.2 | 19 |
2003 | Keenan McCardell, T.B. | 33 | 139 | 84 | 1174 | 14.0 | 8 | 255.4 | 8 |
2003 | Rod Smith, Den. | 33 | 114 | 74 | 845 | 11.4 | 3 | 195.9 | 20 |
2003 | Jerry Rice, Oak. | 41 | 124 | 63 | 869 | 13.8 | 2 | 161.9 | 30 |
2002 | Jerry Rice, Oak. | 40 | 150 | 92 | 1211 | 13.2 | 7 | 257.1 | 10 |
2002 | Jimmy Smith, Jac. | 33 | 137 | 80 | 1027 | 12.8 | 7 | 226.9 | 17 |
2002 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 36 | 127 | 81 | 930 | 11.5 | 2 | 187.9 | 28 |
2001 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 35 | 140 | 91 | 1165 | 12.8 | 9 | 271.4 | 7 |
2001 | Jerry Rice, Oak. | 39 | 125 | 83 | 1139 | 13.7 | 9 | 250.9 | 12 |
2001 | Cris Carter, Min. | 36 | 130 | 73 | 871 | 11.9 | 6 | 196.5 | 29 |
2000 | Cris Carter, Min. | 35 | 161 | 96 | 1274 | 13.3 | 9 | 277.4 | 9 |
2000 | Tim Brown, Oak. | 34 | 133 | 76 | 1128 | 14.8 | 11 | 256.0 | 14 |
2000 | Jerry Rice, S.F. | 38 | 122 | 75 | 805 | 10.7 | 7 | 197.3 | 23 |
Tate's success working with Stafford might have him hoping the Rams are his team, but it doesn't seem likely. Los Angeles has already added another older wideout (DeSean Jackson), and has a couple of second-round picks the last two years in Van Jefferson and Tutu Atwell. A Tate signing wouldn't make a lot of sense on this roster, barring injury to a starter.
The Colts are frequently mentioned, but again, I hope not. Indianapolis has brought back T.Y. Hilton and Zach Pascal, and used second-round picks the last two years on Parris Campbell and Michael Pittman. A Tate signing would just block one of those youngsters, with Pittman (who was the team's best receiver in last year's playoff game) the most intriguing.
As for the Titans, it's not really clear if Tennessee's interest was prior to trading for Julio Jones. Before they added Jones, Tate might have looked like a possible top-30 wideout in Tennessee. Now he would seem to have very little upside.
Some team will probably bring Tate to camp, or sign him if injuries strike. But odds are against his impact being much more than standing in some youngster's way.
--Andy Richardson