Golden Tate Honored Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman in a Special Way
Golden Tate is currently in his 11th NFL season playing for his fourth team. Tate joined the New York Giants in 2019, and he continues to play at a high-level at the age of 32.
During the Giants’ previous game, Tate decided to honor Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman in a special way.
A look at Golden Tate’s career in the NFL
Before Tate entered the NFL, he enjoyed a great career at Notre Dame. During his junior season, he had a breakout year finishing with 93 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 touchdowns. After the 2009 season, he won the Biletnikoff Award, which recognizes the most outstanding wide receiver in college football. He also was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American. Tate finished his career at Notre Dame with 157 receptions, 2,707 receiving yards, and 26 touchdowns. He decided to forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft.
The Seattle Seahawks drafted Tate in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. During his rookie season, he appeared in 11 games and had 21 receptions for 227 yards. He also had 16 punt returns for 202 yards. Tate spent his first four seasons in Seattle, and during his last two years there, he became a starter. The 2013 season was Tate’s best season as a member of the Seahawks. His stats improved significantly as he took on a more expanded role as a punt returner.
Tate finished the 2013 season with 64 receptions for 898 yards with five touchdowns. As a punt returner, he finished with 585 yards and put the team in good field position returning punts. Tate won his first Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2013 as they defeated the Denver Broncos. During that season, Tate was one of Russell Wilson’s favorite targets. After winning the Super Bowl, Tate signed with the Detroit Lions.
Golden Tate had a lot of success playing in Detroit
When Tate joined the Lions, he played alongside star receiver Calvin Johnson. Tate quickly made an impact when he joined the team and became one of Matthew Stafford’s favorite targets. In his first season with the Lions, he had a career-high 99 receptions, which was sixth highest in the NFL, and he had 1,331 receiving yards, which was seventh highest in the league.
Tate was selected to the 2015 Pro Bowl, which was his first appearance. He continued to put up impressive numbers during his time in Detroit. During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, he finished with over 1,000 receiving yards. Tate certainly made an impact during his time in Detroit and was one of the Lions’ top players. He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in the middle of the 2018 season to help the team make a run in the playoffs. After the 2018 season, he signed a four-year contract with the Giants.
Golden Tate honoring two great individuals
In his second season with the Giants, Tate decided to honor two special people. During his first game of the 2020 season, he unveiled new Nike cleats with facial images of Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman on them. Tate put a photo of the cleats on his social media, honoring the two fallen icons. NFL players can only wear custom cleats during warm-ups with the exception of one week during the season when players order special designs for a certain charity or cause.
Many athletes have honored the numerous icons that passed away in 2020, and Tate decided to honor two people who impacted their time here on earth.
