Tate, who led the Lions in catches and receiving yards last season while Johnson missed time with injuries, said he views himself as a No. 1 receiver no matter who else is on the field.
“I’ll go back to when I signed my contract,” Tate told the Detroit Free Press. “I was fully aware that if I’m playing with one of the best receivers to ever and arguably the best player to play in the game right now, I understood that. But I wasn’t coming in with the mindset that I’m going to be second to anyone. I don’t care if I was playing with Jerry Rice, Cris Carter and Calvin on the same team. I don’t have that mindset that I’m going to be the No. 2. I came in fighting for the No. 1. And realistically, we understand the situation. And that’s just kind of my mindset.”
In Weeks 4-8, Johnson missed three games and was severely limited by injuries in two others. In those five games, Tate totaled 39 catches for 599 yards, and the Lions went 4-1. Tate is proud that he helped the Lions move toward the playoffs while their biggest star was sidelined.
“I was told every day just to be the best I possibly could,” Tate said. “And we don’t know what injuries are going to happen or different things are going to happen during the season and [last season] they needed me to show up big. And when Calvin was out I tried to lead this team a little bit more than I had in the past and it worked out for us. So it builds trust.”
Given that the Lions are devoting more than $28 million in cap space to the wide receiver position, by far the most in the NFL, they’d better have more than one guy who can act as a No. 1 receiver.
