The rumors came out at the end of the exhibition season that Brandon Powell had not only earned his way onto the roster because of his performance but because of the comparisons to Golden Tate as well.
After the season Golden Tate will be a free agent since the Lions brass was unable to come to an agreement on a new contract with him during the offseason. That being the case, there were rumors that after Powell’s outstanding exhibition performance, which prominently featured outstanding elusiveness, perhaps the Lions were not feeling as much pressure to re-sign Tate.
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Because maybe, just maybe, they had the perfect player to replace him already.
Rumors are always an interesting thing because they can literally mean nothing or perhaps something. And for all of us who were not actually in any meetings with general manager Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia where the subject was discussed in detail, only time will truly tell us the answer.
With that being the case, my own opinion is simple; if I were in Bob Quinn’s shoes I would definitely try my best to re-sign Tate.
Yes, Tate is 30 years old and could be considered on the downside of his career when faced with years of data regarding the subject. But every player is their own unique case. In the case of Golden Tate, he was always more quick than fast, which means that we really can’t tell if he’s lost a step, but we can see that he is still quick enough to elude opposing tacklers.
As for Powell, well I think based on what he’s demonstrated already, It’s possible that he may be Tate’s successor. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready yet.
Powell has the capability of being a weapon on special teams now that Agnew has gone down. That would be enough for me. But if he’s actually dressing for games, then they may be interested in giving him one or two opportunities on offense as well.
But I wouldn’t force it to the point of disrupting the continuity they are building.
Remember when I mused before about why they kept Powell on the active roster? The reason is simple; they know another team would poach him off the practice squad.
Which means they have plans for him. Those plans may change, but considering how many roster moves the Lions have made so far and the fact that Powell has survived them all speaks volumes.
Lions special teams coach Joe Marciano has said that Powell will be ‘in the mix’ to replace Agnew, which is something that could certainly help the team. Yet one has to wonder how much more the Lions may have planned for young Brandon Powell.