New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur spoke to the media on Tuesday regarding Golden Tate’s recent four-game suspension.
On Saturday, the New York Giants and Golden Tate received the news that the veteran receiver would miss the first four games of the regular season. Tate ultimately failed a performance-enhancing drug test, however, he claims his reasoning in a Twitter post.
My statement. pic.twitter.com/WzP7W4bclB
— Golden Tate (@ShowtimeTate) July 27, 2019
Thus, Tate will be going through the process to appeal the suspension. That decision should come “soon,” per Giants head coach Pat Shurmur.
Shurmur says the Golden Tate decision should be “soon.”
— Dan Salomone (@Dan_Salomone) July 30, 2019
Shurmur also said that Tate will be training as if he’ll play in the Giants’ Week 1 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, per Paul Dottino of WFAN.
#Giants #Shurmur – Tate is training as if he will play Wk. 1 … does not know exactly when NFL will rule on the appeal
— GiantsWFAN (@giantswfan) July 30, 2019
Obviously, the hope is that Tate will play. The Giants signed him to a four-year, $37.5 million deal in March, and Big Blue hopes he’ll be a reliable No. 2 receiver behind Sterling Shepard. However, Shurmur knows things will have to change if the suspension isn’t lifted.
“I always assume the best…But at (some) time, if they decide we don’t have him, we’ll make adjustments,” Shurmur said, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.
The Giants will begin their second week of training camp practices this week at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, NJ.
Last week, along with the Tate suspension, Big Blue saw numerous injuries to their receiving corps. Shepard suffered a fractured thumb and will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. Additionally, Corey Coleman, who was to work at the No. 3 receiver slot, tore his ACL. He’ll miss the entire 2019 season.
