The Seattle Seahawks have a lot of decisions to make in the next couple of weeks, but wide receiver Golden Tate might make things a little bit easier on them.
Tate, 25, is a free agent this offseason, and, after his most productive season in the NFL, the Seahawks will have to pony up a hefty contract to keep him around. However, the former second-round pick said Tuesday that he’d be willing to earn less to stay in Seattle.
“I probably shouldn’t even say this right now, but I’m going to say it anyway just because I love Seattle. Honestly, I would rather take a little less to be happy and win ballgames than to take way more and go to a crappy city where the fans don’t give a crap about the team,” Tate told KJR-AM in Seattle. “You win a game once a month or something like that. I’d much rather stay in the situation that I have now for a little less than to go and try to break the bank somewhere else.”
Tate has been to the playoffs in three of his four seasons with the team, including this season’s Super Bowl victory against the Denver Broncos.
The Seahawks already have receivers Percy Harvin, Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin under contract for next season, and the oft-injured Sidney Rice seems to be a likely cap casualty this offseason. Without Rice in the fold, retaining Tate should become an even bigger priority for Pete Carroll’s team. Cutting Rice also should free up cap space to pay Tate close to what he’s looking for.
Tate set career highs with 64 catches, 898 yards and five touchdowns this season. Those numbers won’t exactly break the bank for the 5-foot-10 playmaker, but he has made some big plays for the Seahawks over the past two seasons, which should earn him a nice raise.
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