After being sent home early in the week as part of disciplinary measures, wide receiver Golden Tate was back with the New York Giants on Thursday and Friday but in somewhat of a different role.
While the Giants practiced, Tate wore a red No. 17 jersey to simulate Washington Football Team wide receiver Terry McLaurin as part of the scout team.
“All of our players play with the scout team at some point or another. We have limited numbers, so everyone rotates on through,” head coach Joe Judge told reporters. “In addition to that, we have practice squad players that work in with our ones as well. With limited numbers out there, we roll guys as much as possible. Especially on a day like Thursday, which is a heavy passing day for us. It’s third down, it’s some red area, it’s two-minute. We roll all of our skill players equally on both sides.”
Tate’s apparent demotion came after some emotional displays on Monday Night Football and a social media rant by his wife shortly thereafter.
While Tate did not speak to the media this week, his teammates did. And veteran cornerback James Bradberry acknowledged that seeing Tate on the scout team was, well… Weird.
“It’s a little different,” Bradberry acknowledged. “He gave me a good example of what I’m going to see on Sunday. Golden, he’s a veteran guy, runs good routes, just that veteran savviness to him. He knows how to get open.”
It remains unclear what role — if any — Tate will have on Sunday against Washington, but it’s clear he’s cemented in Judge’s doghouse for the time being.
“We still have an entire day of practice to go through today. We’ll evaluate everything and make decisions on the back end of today of what we’re going to do going through the weekend,” Judge said on Friday. “I’m going to discuss a lot of possibilities today after practice.”
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