The Lions want to win because the Lions want to win, but Golden Tate clearly wouldn’t mind sticking it to Seattle.
The Detroit wideout admitted Saturday’s opponent gave him a bit more motivation than another opponent might.
“Yeah,” he replied, via Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “We just want to win. We want to win. It’s deeper than me. I want to win because I think this organization deserves to win. I think we’ve earned our way into the playoffs. We had a great week of practice. It’s time to win.
“But I’d be lying if I said personally I don’t want to win as much.”
The Seahawks drafted Tate in the second round in 2010, but he left in free agency in 2014, feeling unwanted by the organization before signing a five-year, $31 million deal with the Lions.
“I thought they wanted me back,” he said last year. “I thought I did everything I could, helped them win a Super Bowl and was in the community, was a good guy.”
He’s been a good buy for the Lions, catching at least 90 passes each year since joining them. But feeling rejected by his former team has a way of lingering in one’s memory.