There’s plenty of time left on his current deal, but Golden Tate could be getting ahead of the game. The Lions wide receiver took to Twitter last night with what is an apparent request for a new deal. 
“I hope I’m one of the next ones to get extended,” Tate wrote. “Big plays can come in all shapes and forms, huh?”
Tate, 29 in August, has two years to go on the five-year, $31MM deal he signed with the Lions back in 2014. Tate’s tweet came moments after Julian Edelman agreed to an extension with the Patriots, but there are some key differences between the two situations, namely that Edelman is entering his contract year. Teams are typically reluctant to enter extension talks with players that have two years to go for fear of setting a precedent with others.
Tate was the Lions’ top receiver in 2016 as he hauled in 91 catches for 1,077 yards and four touchdowns. His current deal pays him an average of $6.2MM per season and places him just 26th among receivers, so it’s not hard to see why he would want a pay bump. But, unless he’s willing to drum up some leverage by skipping out on minicamp, it’s not likely that he’ll get what he’s searching for this summer.
If Tate can reprise his 2016 performance, he should be in line for the extension he’s seeking next summer. The Lions inked cornerback Darius Slay, running back Theo Riddick, and punter Sam Martin to new deals when they were one year out from expiration and defensive back Don Carey got a new deal in the midst of his final season under contract.
With the Lions FO track record, I don’t know why any player would want to sign an extension with them.