Back in May, we heard that the Lions had not had any substantive contract talks with WR Golden Tate, who is in his contract year and whom the Lions dealt to the Eagles at last week’s trade deadline. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, citing Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, says that the Lions did try to extend Tate before trading him, and Tate believed that a deal was close (Twitter link).

As of right now, there are no reports as to the terms of that failed extension, but Tate is said to be seeking a contract in the neighborhood of Jarvis Landry‘s five-year, $75.5MM deal with the Browns, so it stands to reason that Detroit’s offer was somewhere in that ballpark. Landry is about four years younger than Tate, so despite Tate’s track record of quality production, he may not land as lucrative of a deal as Landry’s, but given the fairly unimpressive list of wide receivers eligible for free agency this offseason — not to mention the booming wide receiver market — Tate will be richly compensated one way or another.

Detroit GM Bob Quinn held firm in trade talks with opposing clubs, but when the Eagles met his asking price for Tate, Quinn felt obliged to pull the trigger. The Lions will move forward with Marvin Jones and exciting second-year player Kenny Golladay, while Philadelphia will add Tate to an already strong group of wideouts (as we learned earlier today, the Eagles did try to trade for the Jets’ Robby Anderson, but New York elected to hold onto its best deep threat, so the defending champs shifted their focus to Tate).

In seven games this year, Tate has 44 catches for 517 yards and three touchdowns. He is on pace to crack the 1,000-yard barrier for the third consecutive year, and while he does not present the vertical ability that Anderson would have, the Eagles will surely appreciate his versatility and ability to make contested catches.

Could the Lions trade Golden Tate before Tuesday’s deadline? That’s what other teams want to know, as the Lions have been receiving calls of interest in the wide receiver (video link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). 

Pelissero hears that that Lions could be willing to part with Tate if they’re offered a fourth-round draft pick. For all of his accomplishments, Tate amounts to a rental for interested clubs, so his market is somewhat limited.

At the same time, the 3-4 Lions are very much alive in the sardine-packed NFC North, so one has to wonder why Detroit would settle for a mid-round draft pick. The Lions may be tempted to increase targets for Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones, but Tate remains a dangerous weapon as evidenced by his two 100+ yard games earlier this year.

Tate is in the final year of his five-year, $31MM pact. If another team acquires him this week, they’ll be on the hook for 9/17ths of his $7MM salary, which amounts to roughly $3.7MM.

The Lions have not held any “substantive” extension talks with wide receiver Golden Tate, who is entering the final year of his current contract, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Tate joined the Lions on five-year, $31MM deal prior to the 2014 campaign, and has subsequently outperformed that contract by nearly any estimation. In four years with Detroit, Tate has averaged 93 receptions, 1,056 yards, and five touchdowns per season. Tate has also played like one of the league’s most efficient receivers: in 2017, for example, Football Outsiders ranked Tate 17th in DVOA, meaning he provides excellent value on a per-play basis.

In his contract season, Tate will earn a base salary of $7MM and count for roughly $9.4MM on the Lions’ salary cap. On an annual basis, Tate is now just the 34th-highest-paid wide receiver in the league, sandwiched between Marqise Goodwin and Travis Benjamin.

“The wide receiver market is very high right now, and it wasn’t very high when I came out when I was in free agency the first time, unfortunately,” Tate said. “It’s pretty exciting. It’s almost like, with these guys that are signing their first big deal, it’s been set. I would have never thought receivers today would be getting paid I guess what quarterbacks were getting paid just four years ago.”

The Lions have re-invested in the receiver position since signing Tate in 2014 (and seeing Calvin Johnson retire after the 2015 season). Marvin Jones is on a five-year contract that will keep him in Detroit through 2020, while the Lions used a third-round pick on Kenny Golladay a year ago.