The New York Giants and WR Golden Tate are in the middle of a messy relationship.
And it culminated in a decisive move to scratch Tate from the Week 9 lineup against Washington on November 8.
But on November 9, Tate returned to practice, and everyone is acting as though things are normal…for now.
Coach Joe Judge told the media:
“He was back in there with us today [Monday], working. We’re not going to have the players in the building tomorrow, but they’ll be able to come in to work out. Then Wednesday, we’ll be on the field for practice, so he’ll definitely be out there practicing with us. Like all of our players, we’re going to have plans for these guys within the game plan.”
Tate’s Issue
In 7 games, Tate’s stats are good.
He has 22 receptions out of 29 targets for 226 yards and 2 TDs.
Tate is not happy about his limited usage this year and is not afraid to tell the world including the media, his coaches, and anyone else who will listen that he is disgruntled.
Joe Judge is building a culture in NY. Golden Tate is the example today and will be inactive after publicly bitching about not getting enough touches. Joe Judge says how does 0 sound. pic.twitter.com/l0aLx2TcSM
— Giants Fans with Giant Johnsons (@ScottBrownNYG) November 8, 2020
Tate’s Wife Gets In On The Action
As if things weren’t bad enough, Golden Tate’s wife decided to go on Instagram to air her grievances which involve her husband being underutilized.
"SO UNDER UTILIZED. AS HIS WIFE I CANNOT EVEN WATCH WITH ONE EYE OPEN!!!!"
Golden Tate's wife took multiple shots at the Giants after last night's game https://t.co/U6xkyLr88U pic.twitter.com/z0Pp7pkaJF
— SNY (@SNYtv) November 4, 2020
Golden Tate's career with Giants has not gone as planned for anyone. But the team has not done wrong by him, at least not publicly, even if he's not getting chances he wants.
Yelling at the camera last night. Now his wife is opining on IG. Not the best of looks imo.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) November 3, 2020
The Result
Even at 2-7, Coach Joe Judge has to be admired for trying to quell the controversy by making Tate inactive against The Washington Football Team in Week 9.
Last week’s noise and the trade deadline that passed quietly without Tate being dealt was too much distraction.
In the end, the Giants traveled to Washington without Tate and won the game by a score of 23-20.
24 hours before that game, a more measured and subdued Tate took to Twitter.
Can’t wait for more opportunities like these to help us win games!! https://t.co/IqXkGeIBIG
— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) November 7, 2020
Behind The Scenes
No one really knows how Tate and Judge are relating behind the scenes.
Last week, Tate was very vocal, and Judge decided that actions spoke louder than words.
The Giants play the Eagles this week so everyone (including Golden Tate’s wife) will be watching closely.
Remarkably, the NFC East division race is wide open so the Giants could still make the playoffs which makes the Golden Tate saga even more interesting.
NEXT: Report: 'Wide Belief' That Giants Will Bench WR Golden Tate