Brandon Tate‘s bid for a 10th NFL season may have to commence elsewhere after the Saints made the decision to release him Friday, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com tweets.
The former Patriots third-round pick established a niche for himself as a backup and special-teamer with the Bengals and Bills over the past several seasons, but the Saints did not view the 30-year-old performer as vital enough to retain — at least not at the moment.
Tate signed with the Saints late in the offseason, joining Michael Floyd in that regard. The Saints drafted Tre’Quan Smith in the third round and added Cameron Meredith and Tanner McEvoy, making room in their receiver room scarce. They cut ties with Brandon Coleman earlier this offseason as well.
Serving primarily as a return specialist, Tate’s logged 126 NFL games. He served as Buffalo’s primary kick- and punt-return specialist for the past two seasons.