Ex-Patriots staffer sees Lions wide receiver Golden from 黄剑's blog

 Tate as a potential trade target for New England It is no secret: the New England Patriots currently have a shortage at the wide receiver position. A combination of offseason losses Youth James White Jersey , injuries, a suspension, and a retirement left the team thinner than desired – and potentially looking for additional reinforcements from the outside, at least until de-facto number one wideout Julian Edelman returns from his league-induced ban after the fourth regular season contest.While there will be plenty of options available once roster cutdowns start later this week, the Patriots could also look to acquire a wide receiver via trade. One of the names that is currently floating around is the Detroit Lions’ Golden Tate: Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss threw the veteran out there over the weekend while thinking about an imaginable trade that would also involve New England’s Malcom Brown and Elandon Roberts.Reiss noted that he is not aware of the Lions actually considering moving on from Tate, but his scenario received a noticeable boost yesterday when former Patriots staffer Mike Lombardi tweeted about it (slightly altered from Twitter-speak for readability): “Golden Tate is in the last year of his deal – and Mike Reiss does not throw stuff off the wall. It makes sense to target him; reasonable price and fits their offense to a tee.”Lombardi spent two seasons with the Patriots in 2014 and 2015, and served as an assistant to the coaching staff. His relationship with New England head coach Bill Belichick goes back farther than that, however, as he also worked under the future Hall of Famer when he was still with the Cleveland Browns. Safe to say that Lombardi knows how Belichick works and which players could be possible targets for the team.Tate is one of them, it appears, and it would not be that big of a surprise to see the Patriots actually inquire about him. Not only does the team need more depth at wide receiver, it also has a good relationship with Detroit’s front office: head coach Matt Patricia served as New England’s defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2017, while general manager Bob Quinn worked his way up the team’s scouting department from 2000 to 2015.The line of communication between Foxboro and Detroit therefore is an established and open one. Furthermore, both organizations are run on the same basic principles in terms of their schemes and their value-based approaches to business. Because of that, a trade involving Tate could quickly evolve from a theory to an openly discussed reality. But what would its implications be from New England’s perspective?Above all else, the Patriots would add an experienced http://www.authenticsnewenglandpatriots.com/cheap-eric-rowe-jersey , durable and proven fourth option alongside their current top three wide receivers Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson. Over his four years with the Lions, Tate did not miss a single game and as the team’s number two option at the position averaged 93 catches for 1,056 yards and five touchdowns – all while also serving as a part-time punt returner.Why would Detroit part ways with such a productive player? His financials and long-term outlook could be the reasons behind the Lions’ theoretical decision to move on from Tate. The 30-year old, who will hit the team’s salary cap with $9.35 million this year, is scheduled to enter unrestricted free agency next season. The team might therefore be willing to already hand over the keys to last year’s third-round draft pick Kenny Golladay.While those factors would not make Tate expendable in 2018, they could come into play if a team like New England called to ask for a trade. How would such a trade look like? That’s the question, but Reiss’ idea of moving defensive tackle Malcom Brown – a productive but one-dimensional former first-round pick that is entering the final year of his rookie deal – and linebacker Elandon Roberts seems to be a plausible one.After all, both were drafted when Patricia was still the Patriots’ defensive coordinator and are expected to be natural fits in Detroit – the team will run the same basic scheme as New England under new coordinator Paul Pasqualoni. Both Brown and Roberts have worked well and a lot in this scheme since joining the Patriots in 2015 and 2016, respectively, but still have room for additional growth. A change of scenery could spark this.And while there are no indications yet that New England would be willing to move on from the two youngsters, seeing a trade like this unfold would not be out of the ordinary: the team has traded starting-caliber players entering the final years of their contracts before (see: Chandler Jones, 2016), and also has moved on from seemingly valuable rotational pieces in the past (see: Jacoby Brissett, 2017).With solid depth at both defensive tackle and to a lesser degree linebacker, and elsewhere on the roster if need be Youth Dont'a Hightower Jersey , New England should be able to handle the potential departures of Brown and/or Roberts. Judging by roster composition, trading one or multiple players for Golden Tate would therefore make sense from the Patriots’ perspective. The same goes for trading draft picks: with compensatory selection part of the equation (but not yet awarded), New England could have up to nine selections available next year.The framework for a trade would therefore look solid from both teams’ perspectives, but there still appears to be one major issue: money. As noted above, Tate is scheduled to hit Detroit’s salary cap with $9.35 million this season – $7.0 million of which would transfer to the Patriots if a transaction actually took place. With New England currently only $9.53 million under the cap (via Miguel Benzan), adding Tate would put financial pressure on the team.For this to work, at least one of two scenarios would have to take place: either one or more players get moved off the Patriots’ books as part of the deal – Brown and Roberts, for example, would free up a combined $1.47 million under the current “rule of 51” –, or Tate immediately agrees to a contract extension that would lower his 2018 cap by converting parts of his $7.0 million salary into a signing bonus spread out over the length of the new contract.All in all, trading for Golden Tate would be an intriguing move by the Patriots – one that would add a legitimate receiving weapon to the current core of players. Whether or not it turns out to be more than a theory remains to be seen, though. However, it looks as if both Reiss and Lombardi can envision it taking place.A look at the 11 games Josh Gordon played since his breakout 2013 season When the New England Patriots traded a fifth-round draft selection to the Cleveland Browns for Josh Gordon, they acquired an immensely talented player – but one that is coming with plenty of questions after having played only a handful of games since his breakout campaign in 2013: Gordon missed more than two whole seasons due to various suspensions, and because of that was never able to build on his promising All-Pro season.Gordon finds himself on a different team and in a different environment now, and there is a realistic chance that he takes the field as a Patriot for the first time today against the Miami Dolphins. His debut in red Youth Joe Thuney Jersey , white and blue would mark the 12th game he has played over the last four-plus seasons – and a look back at his last 11 shows that while he missed plenty of time, he also has had some standout performancesNovember 23, 2014: Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons: The last time Josh Gordon was celebrating a win as an active: the Browns defeated the Falcons 26-24 on the road, and Gordon played a big role in the victory. His first game coming off a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy saw him on the field for 69% of offensive snaps and catch eight passes for 120 yards from quarterback Brian Hoyer.November 30, 2014: Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills: Gordon was again active one week later against the Bills, albeit in a 26-10 losing effort. As Hoyer’s favorite target, he caught six passes for 57 yards and added another 18-yard reception from Johnny Manziel in garbage time.December 7, 2014: Cleveland Browns vs Indianapolis Colts: The Colts, who would go on to face the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game later that year, were able to limit Gordon’s impact. While he was targeted seven times by Brian Hoyer, he caught only two passes for 15 yards in one of the worst performances of his career.December 14, 2014: Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals: Cleveland made a quarterback change in mid-December 2014 with Johnny Manziel taking over for Brian Hoyer. The result was an anemic offensive performance by the team during a 0-30 loss. Despite finishing the game with just three catches for 48 yards, Gordon was the Browns’ leading receiver against Cincinnati.December 21, 2014: Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers: Gordon was again the Browns’ most targeted pass catcher the following week with Manziel and Hoyer throwing a combined seven passes his way. The former second-round supplemental draft selection caught a team-high four of them for 45 yards. Gordon then missed the Browns season finale because of a suspension for violating team rules. December 3, 2017: Cleveland Browns at Los Angeles Chargers: After missing almost three years worth of action, Gordon returned in early December 2017 – delivering an encouraging performance as the team’s number two wide receiver in terms of playing time (he was on the field for 76% of offensive snaps). Gordon was targeted 11 times by quarterback Deshone Kizer and caught four passes for 85 yards.December 10 White Jonathan Jones Jersey , 2017: Cleveland Browns vs Green Bay Packers: After leading his team in receiving yards in his 2017 debut, Gordon again was Cleveland’s top pass catcher when it came to creating yardage one week later. Against the Packers, he caught three passes for 69 yards and his first touchdown in four years.December 17, 2017: Cleveland Browns vs Baltimore Ravens: Kizer again frequently targeted Gordon one week later. The rookie threw 10 passes in Gordon’s direction with the veteran wide receiver catching five of them for 47 yards – leading the team in both categories yet again.December 24, 2017: Cleveland Browns at Chicago Bears: The Browns scored just three points all game long, as Gordon had a quiet day against the Bears defense. While again targeted often, he came down with just two catches for 19 yards.December 31, 2017: Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers: Cleveland’s final defeat of the 2017 season saw Gordon deliver his first 100-yard game since November 2014. The Browns’ number one wide receiver in terms of targets and playing time caught four passes for 115 yards.September 9, 2018: Cleveland Browns vs Pittsburgh Steelers: Gordon’s 2018 season started relatively quietly. The 27-year old was targeted just three times by quarterback Tyrod Taylor and finished the game with only one 17-yard catch – despite playing almost 80% of offensive snaps.One week after the Browns’ opening-game tie against Pittsburgh, Gordon injured his hamstring which led to the team’s decision to part ways with the immensely talented but troubled wide receiver. But while his off-field issues are well documented, Gordon has usually been productive when on the field: over the 11 games since his 2013 season, he caught a combined 43 for 655 and a pair of touchdowns.Similar production would likely be well appreciated in New England.