Tate, 30, had been with the Lions since 2014, becoming one of their most reliable receivers.
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In 71 games with the Lions, Tate had 416 catches for more than 4,700 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was in the final year of his contract with the Lions and was not expected to resign with the team after this season.
Where does Tate rank all-time among Lions receivers?
Receiving yards:
No. 1 - Calvin Johnson (11,619 yards)
No. 2 - Herman Moore
No. 3 - Johnnie Morton
No. 4 - Brett Perriman
No. 5 - Gail Cogdill
No. 6 - Charlie Sanders
No. 7 - Golden Tate (4,741 yards)
Receiving touchdowns:
No. 1 - Calvin Johnson (83)
No. 2 - Herman Moore (62)
No. 3 - Leonard Thompson (35)
No. 15 - Golden Tate (22)
Catches:
No. 1 - Calvin Johnson (731)
No. 2 - Herman Moore
No. 3 - Johnnie Morton
No. 4 - Brett Perriman
No. 5 - Golden Tate (416)
No. 6 - Barry Sanders
Catches per game:
No. 1 - Golden Tate (5.9)
No. 2 - Calvin Johnson (5.4)
No. 3 - Herman Moore (4.6)
Receiving yards per game:
No. 1 - Calvin Johnson (86.1)
No. 2 - Darrell Grymes
No. 3 - Eric Truvillion
No. 4 - Golden Tate (66.8)
It's clear Golden Tate will go down as one of the best receivers in Lions history. Among the players he's listed with atop the stat charts, he played the least amount of games.
Calvin Johnson played 93 games, Herman Moore 94 games; Tate played 71. He also had by far the least amount of targets.
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Ken Haddad has been with Local 4/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He helps lead news coverage and content across broadcast and digital platforms. He's from the Metro Detroit area, and loves covering important news (and sports) in his hometown.