Golden Tate will get his chance to catch the ball again soon.
Tate was banished to the scout team last week and did not travel with the Giants to Washington as he served a de facto team-issued one-game suspension for selfish behavior. But he was back in the building Monday, will be on the practice field Wednesday and should be in uniform Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, according to coach Joe Judge.
“He’ll definitely be out there practicing with us,” Judge said. “Like all of our players, we’ll have plans for these guys within the game plan.”
Tate twice yelled “Throw me the ball!” — once to the Giants sideline and once into the television cameras — during a loss to the Buccaneers last Monday. Tate’s wife then criticized the play-calling and quarterback Daniel Jones on her Instagram account, and he “liked” two tweets critical of the Giants, including one from a fan calling for his release.
Judge declined to discuss the specifics behind Tate’s discipline. The two met for a long time last week, leading to Tate being sent home before Wednesday’s practice. Indications are the 11-year veteran took seriously his humbling role in the scout team’s red pinnie later in the week.
Since signing Tate to a four-year, $37.5 million contract in March 2019, the Giants have the same amount of wins when he plays (3-15) as when he doesn’t (3-4). Undrafted rookie Austin Mack led the Giants with 72 receiving yards against Washington as the beneficiary of additional snaps, but Tate caught a touchdown against the Eagles earlier this month.
“I would anticipate Golden being active,” Judge said. “I have no reason to believe he wouldn’t be active at this point. We’ll go through this week and see how everything goes with everybody on the team, and see how everything lays out.
The Giants promoted running back Alfred Morris (17 carries for 95 yards) from the practice squad each of the last two games, which is the maximum allowed under NFL rules. To play again as a backup to Wayne Gallman, he needs to be signed to the 53-man roster.
Safety Xavier McKinney and linebackers Tae Crowder and Oshane Ximines are eligible to come off injured reserve. The Giants have 21 days from bringing a player back to practice to either activate him or shut him down for the season.
“Because we have a bye coming up next week, we want to be very calculated in when we start their 21-day window,” Judge said. “If you start it too early and you lose another week with the bye week anyway, that may set them back. There is a benefit of getting them going right away and getting their legs back, and there is also a benefit of holding them a little bit knowing there is no advantage of getting them to a game next week, anyway.”
