Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1162458
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 16, 2019 51 IRISH IN THE PROS BY ANDREW MENTOCK G olden Tate is the lone Notre Dame player ever to win the Biletnikoff Award (2009), and since then he has sustained a successful NFL career. Highlighted by winning the Super Bowl at Seattle and making the Pro Bowl in 2014, Tate has racked up career totals of 611 recep- tions for 7,214 yards and 38 touchdowns with four dif- ferent franchises. From 2013-17, Tate led the league in yards after the catch and caused the most missed tackles in the NFL with 116, per Pro Football Focus. This past offseason, Tate signed a four-year, $37.5 million contract with the New York Giants, with $22.95 million guaranteed. Now 31 years old, he is entering the twilight of his career and dealing with accusations he never thought he would encounter: the use of perfor- mance-enhancing drugs. He has been suspended for the first four games of the 2019 campaign, ending his streak of playing at least 15 games a season. "I have no problem with accepting the punishment," Tate stated publicly after he learned of the NFL's decision to suspend him. "I'm responsible for what's put into my body, ultimately. The tough thing I am dealing with is I'm letting down a lot of people. "My family, the guys in the locker room, the people in the organization that brought me here." Tate said the only reason he tested positive for clomiphene, a substance deemed illegal by the NFL, is because it's contained in a fertility drug he took to help his wife become pregnant. "Initially, the doctor said it was not a banned sub- stance," he noted. "In fact, he had given it to other NFL players, which is why I trusted it and kept living my life. I was out to din- ner one night with a guy who worked for me and he started talking about an- other player who was get- ting suspended for some- thing completely different. "A light went off in my head and I said, 'Let me call the doctor to make sure, to make myself feel better.' I asked him what the ac- tive ingredient was and he looked it up right then and there and sure enough, it was a banned substance." Tate actually reported himself to the NFL and later ap- pealed the suspension, which was denied. He will serve his time be- fore rejoining his teammates in week five at home versus the Minnesota Vikings. However, per CBS Sports, Tate did indicate he is exploring taking legal action against his doctor for giving him misleading information. ✦ Golden Tate Suspended For The First Four Games Of 2019 Tate — who signed a four-year, $37.5 million contract with the New York Giants during the offseason — played in at least 15 games each of the last eight years, but will see that streak come to an end in 2019. PHOTO COURTESY NEW YORK GIANTS Name (Years At Notre Dame) NFL Season Pos. Current Team Miles Boykin (2015-18) 1st WR Baltimore Ravens Sheldon Day (2012-15) 4th DL San Francisco 49ers Tyler Eifert (2009-12) 7th TE Cincinnati Bengals Matthias Farley (2011-15) 4th DB New York Jets Will Fuller (2013-15) 4th WR Houston Texans Bennett Jackson (2010-13) 6th CB New York Jets J.J. Jansen (2004-07) 12th LS Carolina Panthers DeShone Kizer (2014-16) 3rd QB Oakland Raiders Julian Love (2015-18) 1st CB New York Giants Nick Martin (2011-15) 4th OL Houston Texans Zack Martin (2009-13) 6th OL Dallas Cowboys Mike McGlinchey (2013-17) 2nd OL San Francisco 49ers Quenton Nelson (2014-17) 2nd OL Indianapolis Colts Romeo Okwara (2012-15) 4th DE Detroit Lions C.J. Prosise (2012-15) 4th RB Seattle Seahawks Isaac Rochell (2013-16) 3rd DT Los Angeles Chargers Kyle Rudolph (2008-10) 9th TE Minnesota Vikings Harrison Smith (2007-11) 8th S Minnesota Vikings Jaylon Smith (2013-15) 4th LB Dallas Cowboys Durham Smythe (2013-17) 2nd TE Miami Dolphins Ronnie Stanley (2012-15) 4th OT Baltimore Ravens Golden Tate* (2007-09) 10th WR New York Giants Jerry Tillery (2015-18) 1st DT Los Angeles Chargers Drue Tranquill (2014-18) 1st LB Los Angeles Chargers Stephon Tuitt (2011-13) 6th DE Pittsburgh Steelers Dexter Williams (2015-18) 1st RB Green Bay Packers * Suspended for first four games Injured reserve: LB James Onwualu (2013-16), Jacksonville; RB Theo Riddick (2009-12), Denver; and WR Equanimeous St. Brown (2015-17), Green Bay Practice squad: RB Josh Adams (2015-17), New York Jets; OL Alex Bars (2014-18), Chicago Bears; CB Cole Luke (2013-16), Carolina Panthers; TE Alizé Mack (2015-18), New Orleans Saints; and OL Sam Mustipher (2014-18), Chicago Bears Free agents: DL Jonathan Bonner (2014-18), LB Te'von Coney (2015-18), WR Michael Floyd (2008-11), OL Jaron Jones (2012-16), WR TJ Jones (2010-13), TE Ben Koyack (2011-14), DE Kapron Lewis-Moore (2008-12), LB Greer Martini (2014-17), P Tyler Newsome (2014-18), CB KeiVarae Russell (2012-15), C John Sullivan (2003-07), LB Manti Te'o (2009-12), DL Andrew Trumbetti (2014-17) and OT Sam Young (2006-09) IRISH PLAYERS ON NFL ROSTERS As of Sept. 3