The Facts: Everything is still a bit of learning for Tate. He’s in a new city with a new coaching staff and a new offense. He’s missed time to go to the White House to be honored with his former Seattle teammates and also at least part of the past week of Lions practice due to a sore shoulder. So the WR, the team’s biggest free-agent acquisition this offseason, is still in the process of picking everything up as he adjusts to his new life. “I think I understand the majority of the material. I think I understand the concepts. I’d say around 70, 80 percent,” Tate said. “The last 30 will really be understanding how to run their routes and how it’s supposed to be executed.”
Diehards Line:
Tate has spent practices where he's run routes without wearing a helmet and bothering the coaches after plays to help explain things to him so he can learn even while he’s on the sidelines. This isn’t uncommon, but it's part of him pushing forward from his current 70-80 percent understanding rate. When that comes is unknown, although it’ll almost definitely be before the end of the first week of training camp when the Lions reconvene this summer to actually prepare for the season. This has been the commonplace answer when it comes to Detroit’s new offense and somewhat commonplace among the team’s skill position players. The entire unit's progress in learning the scheme will be something fantasy football owners will want to monitor closely once camp opens.