Golden Tate could sympathize with the transplanted football fan. He didn’t have DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket and his local market in San Diego wasn’t showing his team’s game.
“I had to find it somewhere streaming,” he recalled.
Fortunately, he won’t have that problem anymore. After serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy, the Giants’ new receiver will get to make his debut Sunday against the Vikings after returning to the team’s practice facility Monday morning.
“Just been itching, man. Been missing football and now the time is here,” the 31-year-old receiver said. “I had a big smile on my face yesterday and today. It’s great to be back. I missed these guys. I missed the facility, I misses the coaches, and I’m ready to get back to work. Here we go.”
Tate claimed he failed the drug test as the result of a prescription from a fertility specialist and self-reported taking the prohibited drug once he found out. But he lost his appeal.
His month away from the team was difficult. He spent a good portion of it back home in San Diego working out with a personal trainer, making sure he was ready to contribute once he was allowed to return. He was admittedly ornery on Sundays, frustrated he was unable to help his teammates.
“I’m just sitting there [thinking], I should be out there,” he said.
This past Sunday, the 5-foot-11 receiver was finally in a good mood. The Giants prevailed and it was his last day away. Tate tweeted he would be back in the facility at midnight, he was so excited to be back, but he instead waited until the morning.
“It was a great vibe, we won [Sunday],” said Tate, who signed a four-year, $37.5 million free-agent contract with the Giants in the offseason after they traded Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns. “I went straight into the weight room, started saying hi to everybody, giving out hugs and it was great. I loved it.”
His return should only bolster an offense that has come alive since Daniel Jones replaced Eli Manning as the team’s starting quarterback, leading to a two-game winning streak. Tate found out about the change like most fans — from the internet. He’s been impressed.
“He’s slippery,” Tate said of Jones, who has completed 69% of his passes for 561 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions while running for 61 yards and two scores. “He gets himself out of some sticky situations and makes plays. He’s helped us win. Watching from afar, his decision making’s been great, I think. I’m here to help him, help in his development, help make some plays, take some pressure off of him and just help us continue to win.”
Jones and the rest of the offense will be adding a potential difference-maker in Tate. A nine-year pro, he caught 74 passes for 795 yards and four touchdowns with the Lions and Eagles last year. He’s produced 90 receptions or more in four different seasons, gone over 1,000 yards three times and was selected to his lone Pro Bowl in 2014.
“It’s great, we get another playmaker,” wide receiver Sterling Shepard said. “Somebody for Daniel to get the ball out to who understands the offense and understands zone coverage as well. It gives you another playmaker on the field for defenses to be aware of.”Tate hasn’t been surprised by what Jones has done. Instead, he used the word “delighted.” He liked what he saw in training camp and has been impressed so far. Now he’s ready to be part of the new and improved offense.
“Whatever we are doing right now is working,” Tate said. “I just want to come in and be a spark, an addition to what we’re doing, just help everybody around me get better and just be myself.”