Golden Tate would ‘love’ to play for the Patriots

The New England Patriots have often been mentioned as a potential suitor for Golden Tate because of his style of play, and the veteran wide receiver says he would love to catch passes from Tom Brady in 2019.

Tate, who spent last season with the Philadelphia Eagles, is set to become a free agent next month. In a recent appearance on the “Prostyle Podcast,” Tate was asked by former NFL receiver Earl Bennett about being linked to the Patriots before the trade deadline last season. The 30-year-old said he would “love it” if New England wanted to sign him.

“I would love it,” Tate said, as transcribed by Bernd Buchmasser of Pats Pulpit. “That organization, they have proven to be champions year-in and year-out. They work hard for sure, but you know where you’re going to be at the end of the season: you’re going to be not only looking at the playoffs, but you’re looking at maybe a first-round bye with this team. You gotta admire that organization, they do things right, they’ve been doing it for a long, long, long time.”

Tate added that Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is “a buddy of mine” and said he would love to “catch a few passes from old Tommy Boy,” so it sounds like he already has a relationship with some of New England’s core players.

The Patriots have a big need at wide receiver heading into 2019, and they would almost certainly be interested in Tate at the right price. The 30-year-old is extremely durable and has missed very few games during his career, which is a quality Bill Belichick values. However, based on some of the things Tate has said in the past about his compensation, you have to wonder if he will be too expensive for New England.