When the Browns signed running back Ben Tate as a free agent this offseason, it looked like he was going to get a chance to move from being Arian Foster’s No. 2 in Houston to being the top running back in Cleveland.
Things haven’t worked out exactly as planned. Tate hurt his knee in the season opener, missed two games and has been part of a three-way timeshare with Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell since returning to the lineup. The Browns run the ball a lot, so Tate’s 10 carries against the Bengals last week were only good for third-best on the team and he admitted on Tuesday that “I’d be lying” if he said he was satisfied with the arrangement.
Tate also said that “all that really matters” is that the Browns are 6-3 and astutely pointed out that you don’t want to be the guy complaining about touches in that situation. He also said that he didn’t really understand why he’d fallen in the pecking order, not that he’ll be asking for clarification on the matter.
“Nothing. Keep going. Keep working. Keep getting better every try,’' Tate said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Life never pans out the way you want it to. It’s a bump in the road. Keep going.”
His average of 3.4 yards per carry last week was his best since his first game back from injury, so it might not be much of a mystery. There’s been little rhyme or reason to the usage patterns of the three backs over the long run, so Tate can probably put himself in position to gain more carries if he’s productive when given opportunities to carry the ball.