After initially suggesting that he’d be open to returning to the Seahawks on a “hometown discount,” Golden Tate ultimately landed with the Lions, inking the second-largest deal of the offseason for a wide receiver. In retrospect, Tate may regret making the comment about giving Seattle a discount, as he explained on 710 ESPN in Seattle (link via Terry Blount of ESPN.com).
“I didn’t mean a 40% discount,” Tate said. “I’m going to earn in one year at Detroit what Seattle was going to pay me for two years. Seattle offered numbers that were laughable. I thought, ‘I’ve given you everything and this is what you give me?'”
As Tate looks forward to teaming up with Calvin Johnson in Detroit, let’s check in on a few more odds and ends from around the NFL….
- Free agent offensive lineman Paul McQuistan and defensive lineman Alex Carrington visited with the Browns, tweets Pat McManamon of ESPN.com.
- The Jets have converted Mike Goodson’s $650K roster bonus into a different form of roster bonus that can be obtained if he’s on the roster for all 16 games, as Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com details (via Twitter). The move takes the bonus charge off the cap, creating some modest savings for the Jets.
- Before he re-signed with the Jets, Willie Colon drew interest from the Falcons and Vikings, but those teams both ultimately “backed off,” the lineman told reporters today (Twitter link via Brian Costello of the New York Post).
- The Redskins hosted free agent guard Mike McGlynn for a visit today, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Washington is clearly in the market for at least one interior lineman after cutting Will Montgomery, considering we heard earlier in the afternoon that the club will also host Brian De La Puente.
- The conditional draft pick the Dolphins sent to the Ravens for Bryant McKinnie last season will be a seventh-rounder, a league source tells Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
- The Vikings‘ offer to Henry Melton was competitive with the Cowboys‘ proposal in terms of salary, but the free agent defensive lineman simply chose Dallas instead, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- A little over a week into free agency, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch examines where the Rams stand, and takes an in-depth look at Rodger Saffold‘s new contract.
- Javier Arenas‘ one-year deal with the Falcons is a minimum salary benefit contract with a $65K signing bonus, says Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has the details on the new additions to the NFLPA’s executive committee.