Report: Golden Tate Likely To Miss Multiple Weeks With Shoulder Injury
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
The injuries are piling up for the Lions.
The latest victim is Golden Tate, who suffered an AC joint sprain in his shoulder in Sunday's loss to the Saints and is expected to miss a few weeks, according to Ian Rapoport.
Tate was injured in the third quarter when he absorbed a hit after making a catch. He left the game and did not return. (He also avoided speaking to the media afterward.) Prior to his departure, he hauled in seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
On top of losing Tate, safety Glover Quin left Sunday's game with a concussion and left tackle Greg Robinson left with an ankle injury. Right tackle Rick Wagner was unable to handle his usual workload due to an undisclosed injury and guard T.J. Lang was inactive due to a recurring back issue. Kenny Golladay was also inactive due to a hamstring injury, his third straight missed game.
Jim Caldwell agreed the Lions' Week 7 bye comes at an opportune time.
"Yeah, there's no question about it. We had quite a few guys get banged-up during the course of the game. Like I mentioned yesterday, if we were playing a Thursday game it'd be really tough or even a Sunday game would be fairly tough, but this comes at a great time for us," said Caldwell.
He added the team's main goal during the bye is to "get healthy."
"That's the primary focus," Caldwell said.
The 3-3 Lions return to action on Oct. 29 versus the Steelers. Should Tate be unable to play, their top three receivers will be Marvin Jones, T.J. Jones and Golladay. Tate leads the team in targets (47), receptions (36) and yards (363).
Tate hasn't missed a game since the 2012 season when he was a member of the Seahawks. He is one of only four receivers to record at least 90 catches and 800 yards each of the past three seasons, along with Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham and Demaryius Thomas. For Tate, that streak is in obvious jeopardy.
