Lions react to Tate trade

Golden Tate to Philadelphia for a third-round pick.

1. Tate was a good teammate and leader, who will be missed.

2. This is the NFL, things like this happen, and there are very capable players in the room with the ability to step up and play bigger roles.

3. The Minnesota Vikings are not sitting around feeling sorry for the Lions, so it's time to move on and get to work on the Vikings.

"Next guy up," said cornerback Quandre Diggs. "That's the motto that's been going around forever football. Of course we'll miss him, but Minnesota do not care about if we'll be missing Golden. "

It's expected that players like TJ Jones, Brandon Powell and maybe even Theo Riddick, will leave you behind the track, and try to keep the Lions' offense on track.

"We hate to see him go. We wish him nothing but the best, "said TJ Jones. "But we know the reality of it. We had to come back in this morning.

"I think we're all going to step up. I think there's a lot of touch and responsibility to be spread out between everyone in the offense. It's up to us to handle it, I guess. Take your responsibility, your part, whatever your role may be, and do it to the best of your ability. "

Marvin Jones Jr. said nothing really changes for him and Kenny Golladay on the outside.

"We just have to do what we do," he said. "That's going to be there every day, and we're going to get it done for the team.

"Obviously, we have some people who are going to step in. We have TJ Jones and (Brandon) Powell. They're going to get a little bit of playing time. Everyone just has to stay the race. "

Veteran safety Glover Quin, in a way only Quin can, bailed the media to hit the break button and wait and see what this plays out before any big conclusions about what this trade says about the current state of the franchise or what it means for the rest of the season.

"We have not even played a game yet," he said.

He just tried to make the point in the league. He told the story about starting a career in the nickel, and because of the odds he got a chance to start his 4th week rookie year. It's 10 years later and he's still a starter.

The speakers who spoke in the locker room. The reality of the situation is the Lions are just one game out of first place in the North NFC with nine games remaining.

"We have to focus on the Vikings," said Marvin Jones. "If everyone is just going to sit around here and mope, that's just not going to help the team. We're on the Vikings. "

WHOLE PICTURE APPROACH

Lions head coach Matt Patricia said the Lions took a lead when they decided to trade Tate to the Eagles.

"For us, again, it's a picture of what's the best thing for a team," said Patricia. "In those situations, they're not easy decisions. They are certainly difficult decisions.

"But again, for us, it's not about one player, it's about the team."

Tate led the Lions in receptions (44) and yards (517) this season, and had the fifth most receptions on third down (15) among all NFL receivers. The lions will now turn to others to step up and fill the void, something Patricia seems confident they'll be able to do.

"It's about everybody," he said. "We have a lot of guys who are really good at this team and we are honest and honest.

"I think this game is so much a team game. It's about everybody, it's about all parts, not just one. "

It's also about opportunity, and it's a pretty big opportunity for someone to step up and take over that role.

THIELEN'S MONSTER SEASON

Both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen have three games with at least 10 receptions of this season, which trails only Cris Carter (four in 1994 and four in 1995) for the most games with 10-plus catches in a single season Vikings franchise history.

Thielen, in particular, has had a monster season thus far. He leads the NFL with 925 receiving yards. Last week, he became the second player in NFL history (Calvin Johnson in 2012) to have eight consecutive games with 100-plus receiving yards and the second player (Patrick Jeffers in 1999) with five consecutive games of 100-plus receiving yards and a touchdown catch.

"He's a phenomenal receiver," said Patricia of Thielen. "He's a guy who really has a lot of things going for them and they're going to be very explosive and very dynamic for them. Certainly, he is one of their go-to players.

"We're going to have a hard time trying to handle him. He runs really good roads, he can get vertically very quick. He understands area coverage, he can sit down and find the open space and he has great hands. So, definitely will be a big issue for us this week. "