Detroit Lions: Can Golden Tate be a potential trade piece?

The Detroit Lions appear to finally have a surplus of talent at the wide receiver, which raises the question: Does Detroit need Golden Tate to make a run?

Well, it’s finally official. The Detroit Lions 2017 NFL regular season is officially over. The Lions showed flashes of being a really good team, but this season was ultimately a failure, as Detroit has nothing to show for its hot start.

As the Lions look towards the future and start prepping for the draft, it’s time to finally address some serious needs for the Motor City. The Lions need to look into taking care of their front seven, as they struggled to stop the run once Defensive Tackle Haloti Ngata went down with a torn bicep  early in the year.

This entire season, the Lions ranked towards the bottom of the league in almost every major category. They have allowed 18 rushing touchdowns through 16 weeks, which is the second most allowed of any team in the league.

As bad as this unit was, this part of the defense is fixable. The Lions need to use two or three of their early draft picks to supply the unit with quality playmakers and solid depth, but that may not be enough.

The time is now for the Detroit Lions. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is not getting any younger, and the Lions need to do whatever they can to contend while he is still in his prime.

In other words, the Lions may not have time to wait young defensive players to develop, meaning that a trade for some veteran defensive linemen and pass-rushing linebackers may be in order.

In order to rebuild the front seven with trades, Detroit will need to put quality players of their own on the trading block. That’s where veteran wide receiver Golden Tate comes into the discussion.

No sensible fan wants to see the sure-handed Tate leave this team. He’s been the backbone of the passing game for four years now, and has proven to be a great leader on this team. Despite all that, Golden Tate’s prime window is closing a little bit more every day.

As of Week 16, Golden Tate has posted less than 1,000 yards and only 10.6 yards per catch, which are both declines from last season. His receiving yards per game average has also fallen from 83.2 yards in 2014 to 59.9 yards this season. These are all potential signs of Golden Tate slipping in speed and declining with age.

Golden Tate only has one year left on his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent after 2018. The Lions will be giving seven million dollars to a wide receiver turning 30 who might be declining and is slowly losing the speed that makes him so good, which sounds like it could backfire quickly for the Cardiac Cats.

Bob Quinn comes from the Patriots regime, and if there’s one thing the Patriots have always been good at, its knowing when to get rid of players at just the right time, no matter how much they means for the city and it’s fans.

The Lions will have to sign Tate to another big deal next offseason, which means it could be time to kick Tate to the curb before we witness the full decline.

The Lions can look to trade Tate for some defensive playmakers, as many contenders with strong defensive assets, such as the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Rams, could use more pass catchers

Wide Receiver Marvin Jones may be just hitting his prime for the Lions, as he had double the touchdowns of Tate and had the first 1,000 yard season of his career. He may be ready to step into the number one receiver role that Tate has held for four years now.

While he did struggle with injury this season, Golladay showed flashes of incredible play this season and could develop into a solid second option in the passing game. And tight end Eric Ebron is coming off the best season of his career, and has proven to be a reliable 3rd-down target for Stafford this season.

If the Lions choose to move on from Tate this offseason, there are many young slot guys the Lions can draft to replace him, as this seems to be a deep draft at the wide receiver position. Look for promising names like Christian Kirk and James Washington to be on the back of the new jerseys if the Lions deal Tate this offseason.

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Golden Tate has been an iconic name for the Lions for almost half a decade now, and has proven to be a solid leader on and off the field. But at this point in the career, it’s time to start thinking about if the Lions truly need him and his hefty price tag to contend in the NFC.