He hemmed and hawed and laughed, and after 17 seconds of meaningful silence, Golden Tate asked the reporter to repeat his question.
Jealous? Of Percy Harvin?
Not Tate.
Tate downplayed any friction between him and his former Seattle Seahawks teammate on Monday, saying recent comments Harvin made to the Buffalo News about their time together in Seattle were unexpected and a misunderstanding, and taking a jab at Harvin along the way.
“There was never any jealousy on my end,” Tate said after the Lions practiced at Dearborn Edsel Ford tonight. “I was excited to get him on the field with us. Like I said, his role in Seattle and my role were different so there was no need for me to be jealous. I wanted to win a Super Bowl that year and that’s all I wanted, that’s all I cared about. I think it was just a misunderstanding between him and I and I know it didn’t work out with the Vikings, the Seahawks or the Jets, so I hope the best for him out there in Buffalo. I think it’s a great fit for him and I want to see him ball out.”
Harvin, who played just seven games with the Seahawks over parts of two seasons in Seattle, told the Buffalo News that Tate and Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin felt threatened by his arrival after the Seahawks acquired him in a 2013 trade with the Minnesota Vikings and made it uncomfortable for him in practice.
Harvin got into skirmishes with both Tate and Baldwin that fall, and he said he “had to walk on eggshells and look over my back to see who’s watching me” because his new teammates were jealous of his role on offense.
“It was a constant thing,” Harvin said. “It was something that got under my skin. I felt like they were acting like kids.”
Tate said he had an amicable relationship with Harvin in Seattle — or thought he did at least — and called Harvin’s comments “unfair a little bit.”
“He’s trying to repair his image and he just wants to tell his side of the story,” Tate said. “There’s some things in there I think — I don’t think everything in that was totally true. But like I said, I wish the best for him.”
Tate and Harvin played just one season together in 2013, when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl.
Harvin appeared in just three games that year because of a hip injury, including the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win over the Denver Broncos, and was traded early in the 2014 season to the New York Jets.
“I’m not the one who released him from the team,” Tate said.
The two haven’t spoken since Seattle’s trip to the White House a few months after the championship game.
“Last time I talked with Percy or even saw him was at the White House visit, that’s when I saw him,” Tate said. “We shook hands, actually went out that night, chopped it up a little bit, hung out. I don’t necessarily think we have a bad relationship, or didn’t at least. I mean, there’s no hard feelings. Like I said, I wish him the best. He’s one of the best players in this league. I want to see him ball out, personally. I want to see everybody ball out. And I’ll still be watching his film trying to learn some things.”
Despite Harvin’s comments, Tate, who caught two passes in the Lions’ 23-3 preseason win over the Jets last week and is having a strong camp overall, said he wishes Harvin the best with his new team the Bills.
“After the Super Bowl, we were — he was giving, ‘All right man, good game. I love you. I’m glad we’re playing together,’ and I was saying the same thing so it kind of came out of right field to hear those comments,” Tate said. “But it is what it is and I still appreciated him as a teammate, the short time we played together and actually learned some things from him so wish him the best.”
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