EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Golden Tate was scheduled to address the media for the first time since being benched for last week's game against Washington. Instead, the wide receiver was a late scratch after the New York Giants said he suffered a knee injury late in Thursday's practice.
The original belief is that the injury is not anything potentially season-ending, a source told ESPN. Tate was officially listed as a limited participant in practice.
It has been an eventful season for Tate. He missed the season opener with a hamstring injury, fought Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey at midfield in Week 4 and expressed his displeasure with his shrinking role late in a Monday night loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then was suspended for his actions.
Just when he was supposed to return to face one of his former teams, the Philadelphia Eagles, he hurt his knee.
The veteran receiver was set to resume his previous role, according to wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert. Tate was playing just over 50% of the offensive snaps before being benched.
He seemed to be participating fully during the portion of Thursday's practice that was open to the media.
"We're kind of past that issue now," coach Joe Judge said before practice. "We're getting ready to play Philly right now. Golden's getting ready to play Philly as well right now.
"I love the way he came to practice [Wednesday]. I love the way he's preparing so far today. We're going to be on the field today. We'll be over in the stadium. It'll be a good opportunity for the entire team to work on the turf for a day today and get moving forward with it. But look, we're totally past the whole situation last week. It is what it is. I look forward to getting Golden on the field with us. We'll roll him in fast."
Undrafted rookie Austin Mack took Tate's snaps in Sunday's win over Washington and led the Giants with 72 yards on four receptions.
Tate is a former Pro Bowl receiver with 682 receptions for 8,116 yards and 46 touchdowns in 112 career starts. But last week he was told to stay home Wednesday while the Giants practiced and spent most of the rest of the week working with the scout team.
In Week 8, Tate was caught on camera yelling "Throw me the ball" after a spectacular leaping touchdown grab late in the fourth quarter put the Giants in position to tie the score. His wife, Elise, ranted that night on Instagram about his lack of opportunities, and Tate later liked a tweet that suggested he should be cut and given an opportunity to sign elsewhere.
Sources said the Giants were open to moving Tate before the trade deadline. But his salary (almost $4.5 million this season), age (32) and deteriorating production (22 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns in seven games) made it unlikely. The rare times Tate has been called on in recent weeks, he has produced. He had touchdown grabs of 19 and 39 yards despite just five targets combined against the Buccaneers and Eagles in his past two games.