With the 2018 season in the rear-view mirror, we are taking a look back at each player's season, and what to expect from them in the future.
Player:
Golden Tate
Season Stats:
Eight games, 30 receptions, 278 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown, four rushes, 34 rushing yards
Highlights:
In his first game as an Eagle, Doug Pederson tried getting Tate involved even though he didn't know much of the playbook yet. So in the redzone against the Cowboys, Golden Tate received a pitch from Zach Ertz to pick up a good chunk of yards.
Early in the game against the Redskins, Carson Wentz kept a play alive and directed Golden Tate open down the sideline to pickup a huge gain.
Later in the quarter against Washington, Carson Wentz once again bought some extra time, allowing Golden Tate to lose his man and get open in the back of the endzone. This was Tate's only regular-season touchdown with the Eagles.
The Washington game was Tate's breakout game with the Birds. On a 3rd and 9 in the 3rd Quarter, Tate caught a ball on a quick out route and escaped his defender. He got enough YAC to get the ball into the redzone.
Tate's last hurrah in the Redskins game was a successful two-point conversion to help give the Eagles a two-possession lead.
Tate stepped out in his first playoff game as an Eagle. On a 3rd down right before the half, Tate was able to catch a Nick Foles rainbow and spin off of a huge hit from a Bears defender, all while maintaining control of the ball.
Last but not least, Golden Tate's biggest play as an Eagle was the game-winning touchdown catch on a 4th-and-goal play that had every Eagles fan's heart racing.
Lowlights:
Of course a lowlight of Golden Tate in midnight green was the inability to integrate him into the offense fully. The Eagles traded for him at the deadline to get eight games of an effective wide receiver and one of the best 3rd down ball-catchers in the NFL. Instead, it took four games until he had a decent game in an Eagles uniform. After the first Washington game Tate still didn't really show up much the rest of the season until the playoff game against the Bears.
Not only was Tate supposed to be a receiving option, but since Darren Sproles was dealing with an injury, he was also supposed to be an electrifying addition to the punt return game. Tate ended up returning five punts: one went for 12 yards, the other four went for a combined total of one yard.
Not that it ended up making a difference at the end of the day, but in the playoff game against the Bears, Tate was covered by LB Roquan Smith on a particular play. Foles saw the mismatch and tried to hit Tate, but under-threw the ball a bit. The ball fell in front of both Tate and Smith and became incomplete, but Tate knew the ball was going to be short and did not come try coming back for the ball and causing Smith to commit a pass interference. He made up for this mistake by catching the GW-TD, so I guess this lowlight could slide.
Future With The Eagles:
Tate is currently set to become a free agent next month. With the Eagles not having a lot of cap room and Tate expected to be one of the top receivers on the open market, it is not likely we see Tate return to Philadelphia. However, if the Eagles really do want him back next season, they can make enough moves to have room for him. That would most likely mean Nelson Agholor would be cut/traded though. So at the end up the day, it's probably a 80-90% chance we have seen the last of Tate.
