Lions WR Golden Tate: I’ve never seen myself as a No. 2 option

Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate says he has never seen himself as a No. 2 option, even with Calvin Johnson on the team.

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Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate says he has never seen himself as a No. 2 option, even with Calvin Johnson on the team, reports the Detroit Free Press’s Carlos Monarrez.

“I’ve never seen myself as a No. 2 receiver,” Tate told the Free Press. “And I’ve said it before: I don’t care if I was playing with Jerry Rice and Cris Carter. That’s just not how I see myself, and that’s just how I’m driven.”

In the two seasons Tate and Johnson played together, Tate was thrown at 272 times, while Johnson was targeted on 277 occasions. During that stretch, Tate recorded 2,144 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, as Johnson tallied 2,291 yards with 17 scores.

Tate, 27, who spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, will play his third campaign in Detroit in 2016.

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Johnson retired from the NFL in March after nine seasons in the league. He currently sits in 27th on the NFL’s all-time receiving list.