Running back Ben Tate’s arrival in Minnesota was precipitated by a couple of weeks of discussion about Tate’s role in the Cleveland offense.
Tate signed with the Browns as a free agent during the offseason with the expectation that he’d be the starting running back after several years as the No. 2 man in Houston. Rookies Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell got in the way of that, though, and Tate made it clear that things weren’t playing out the way he hoped before he was waived.
On Thursday, though, Tate said he never said he was upset with the situation in Cleveland. He did say that he’d be “lying” if he said he was satisfied, however, and that raises the question of how happy he’ll be in Minnesota with offensive coordinator Norv Turner saying that Jerick McKinnon is the team’s top back. Tate said he was still getting his bearings and had no thoughts about what role he should be playing with the Vikings.
“I don’t have a certain expectation or a certain this or that,” Tate said, via ESPN.com. “I’m just trying to learn the playbook and give it 100 percent and try to do whatever I can to help this team win.”
Expectations are probably limited all around. The Vikings like McKinnon and could just see Tate as insurance for the rest of the year with both McKinnon and Matt Asiata banged up. They could also be open to Tate as part of the answer to how they move their backfield into 2015 should they part ways with Adrian Peterson, so there’s plenty of role defining to do before Tate can elide whether he’s satisfied with it.