Tate joins crowded Vikings backfield in surprise season

Nov. 18, a Tuesday morning, and Ben Tate III's phone is ringing. He looks down and it's work on the caller ID.

For an NFL player, Tuesdays are off days. Work doesn't call on Tuesday. Unless it's serious.

"I don't remember who it was," said Tate, a Browns running back at the time. "They just said the GM [Ray Farmer] and the head coach [Mike Pettine] needed to talk to me at the facility."

Tate said he was surprised initially and even wondered aloud to his girlfriend, Tasha Malek, why Farmer and Pettine would want to talk to him on a Tuesday.

"But I had an eerie feeling something was wrong," Tate said. "The night before, during our Monday meeting, the head coach was just basically going nuts in our meeting. Saying, 'We're going to cut people and people are going to be shocked and blah, blah, blah.' "

Signed by the Browns to a two-year, $6.2 million deal in March, Tate was gone after eight games, only two of which included 20 or more carries for a solid 5-11, 214-pounder. His locker belongings were packed up for him and, well, that was that.

"If you don't want me, that's fine with me because I know I can still play and there are 31 other teams out there," Tate said. "And it wasn't like I was a guy who had off-the-field issues or I caused trouble, so I knew as far as that slate, I knew I was clean."

Waiting game

Tate returned to the house he had just bought in Berea, Ohio, and entered the NFL's official 24-hour waiver period at 4 p.m. Because he's young (26) and still in his productive and/or potential years, Tate knew his life would be moving very quickly very soon.

In 24 hours, he'd get a call from his new team. In about 40 hours, he'd be in their colors, jogging to a practice field with strangers for teammates.

"I wanted to go home and pack and make plans, but everything is so uncertain," Tate said. "So I said, 'You know what, it's my off day, I'm just going to go home and do what I normally do on a Tuesday.' I just played with my little boy, Talib. He's 9 months."

Wednesday morning arrived. Tate wasn't stressing. He isn't the type. Plus, he bought his house with intentions to rent it out later. He'd move Tasha and Talib back to the house they had just left in Houston. And, heck, even if he wasn't claimed, the Browns would still have to pay him this season as a vested veteran.

"But you are trying to get everything situated and right for your family," Tate said. "You know you're leaving them behind in a few hours and wherever you're going, you have to be able to focus."

Unexpected choice

Tate was dialing his agent for an update a little past the 4 p.m. waiver deadline when Tasha saw the news on Twitter or ESPN in another room.

"She ran in and said, 'You're going to the Vikings,' " Tate said. "Honestly, I was shocked. The Vikings? That wasn't a team that me or my agent really expected. All I could think about was 'AP [Adrian Peterson] is there.' The Vikings? What's going on? But I'm happy to be here."

Peterson has been sidelined since the first game of the season and is now suspended until April. Without him, the running game has featured four different leading rushers, including backup safety Andrew Sendejo, who ran 48 yards with a fake punt in the loss at Chicago.

"In the NFL, nothing is certain," Tate said. "Everything is an audition because you never know."

Monday, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said running back Matt Asiata "probably got too many carries" (19) against the Jets while Tate (three) and Joe Banyard (one) probably got too few. He indicated that would change Sunday at Detroit against the Lions' No. 1-ranked run defense, although offensive coordinator Norv Turner later defended Asiata's workload last Sunday based on game situations and the team's heightened level of trust in Asiata's ball security.

Another opportunity

Tate's best season came as a rookie in 2011, when he rushed for 942 yards and a 5.4-yard average with the Texans. He was expecting his first 1,000-yard season when he signed with the Browns but found himself splitting time with rookies Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West after an injury in Week 1.

He returned in Week 4 and ran for a career-high 124 yards on 22 carries in a win at Tennessee. A week later, he carried the ball a career-high 25 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Steelers.

After that, his opportunities shriveled and he expressed his unhappiness. Two days before he was cut, he had minus-9 yards on two carries against the Texans.

"My time in Cleveland was supposed to be about opportunities," said Tate, who has eight carries in two games with the Vikings. "I had two games where I got that, and I produced. I wish I could talk about everything that happened in Cleveland, but I'll just say it was unfortunate.

"If given opportunities, I think I'm a 1,000-yard back in this league. Hopefully, I'm going for 1,000 yards somewhere next season."