The Eagles waived wide receiver Khalil Tate on Monday, the team announced on Twitter. Tate was an undrafted free agent and initially signed with that team back in May, shortly after the NFL Draft. No corresponding move was announced, and no reason has yet leaked for why exactly Tate was waived today.
After waiving Tate, the Eagles roster currently sits at 89 players, one shy of the maximum of 90. While there have been some rumblings that teams might carry fewer players or that maximum rosters might shrink due to pandemic concerns, it’s unlikely that’s the reasoning behind moving on from Khalil Tate.
Tate was an interesting prospect because he was once a highly-touted athletic quarterback prospect who was being converted to wide receiver. Here is what Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation wrote about Tate just last week:
In the summer of 2018, Tate was a preseason Heisman candidate. In the summer of 2020, Tate is an undrafted rookie free agent quarterback trying to transition to receiver. The odds are stacked against the Arizona alumnus but perhaps with enough patience and development Tate can similarly follow Greg Ward’s path.
The Eagles are not exactly deep at wide receiver, but the reality is that Tate was, at best, destined for a role as a scout team quarterback/wide receiver in 2020. It would have taken a combination of disaster (several injuries) and a miracle (Tate defying probably even his own wildest expectations) for him to even be in consideration for a roster spot.
And this is before you factor in the COVID-19 pandemic eliminating minicamps and the entire offseason program. Tate didn’t get in front of the coaches at all and didn’t get a chance to run any routes or take any reps at wide receiver.
The odds were stacked against him, and the Eagles are apparently deciding they have a better use for his roster spot. To be determined what they will do with the newly-available spot, but we will likely find out in the coming days.
