It wasn’t quite “business as usual,” as Joe Judge suggested it would be. Yes, Golden Tate was back at practice after his day in purgatory, but in the 30-minute portion of Thursday’s workout open to the media, the veteran wide receiver was mostly inactive and appeared to be joining the scout team when reporters left practice.
He, in fact, looked to be in Judge’s doghouse.
Without a target for the first three quarters Monday against the Buccaneers, the 32-year-old Tate looked to the Giants sideline and shouted: “Throw me the damn ball!” after making his first catch of the game. Later, after hauling in a touchdown pass, he screamed into a television camera, “Throw me the ball!” In other instances, he was seen jumping up and down or raising his hand in frustration. His wife, Elise, also criticized the Giants for not throwing Tate the ball in a since-deleted post on Instagram.
Before practice, Judge was asked about Tate, and whether it would be business as usual. The Giants coach simply responded, “Yes.”
It didn’t appear to be that way, however.
Carter Coughlin will never forget his first career NFL sack. It came against, of all people, future Hall of Famer Tom Brady in the Monday night loss to the Buccaneers.
“The moment it happened, I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that just happened.’ It was kind of like a little blackout moment,” the rookie linebacker said Thursday. “I only got to think like that for three seconds and then it was back to ‘we need to go win this game’ and stuff like that.”
A seventh-round pick out of Minnesota, Coughlin has seen his playing time increase due to the season-ending injury to Lorenzo Carter and trade of Markus Golden. He made his regular-season debut Oct. 18 in a win over Washington and was in action Monday, when he sacked Brady.
“It’s definitely a cool memory,” Coughlin said. “Definitely something I’ll remember forever.”
The addition of Dante Pettis off waivers from the 49ers could provide a boost to the Giants at receiver and on special teams. The 2018 second-round pick set an NCAA record with nine punt-return touchdowns at Washington and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds before the NFL draft. He didn’t get much of a chance with the 49ers on special teams, fielding only one kickoff and 11 punts during his time, but should get the opportunity to do both with the Giants.
“Obviously, he’s had some success in the past,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said. “Hopefully, once he gets here, we’ll find out what his skill set is, what he can do. Find his strengths and try to play to that.”
Running back Devonta Freeman (ankle) took part in practice on a limited basis for the first time since being injured Oct. 22 in a loss to the Eagles. Defensive back Ryan Lewis (hamstring) didn’t practice while linebackers Blake Martinez (hamstring) and Devante Downs (shoulder), wide receiver Sterling Shepard (shoulder/toe) and defensive back Logan Ryan (hip) were all limited.