In its current state, the Los Angeles Chargers depth at tight end is one of the weakest among the entire league.
Virgil Green has become the No. 1 tight end target for Phillip Rivers after young star Hunter Henry was lost for the season with an ACL injury on the first day of organized team activity and future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates was released. Listed beneath Green are 2nd-year Braedon Bowman and rookie free agents Cole Hunt and Ben Johnson. Without a lot of experience other than the seven years that Green has under his belt, the Chargers could be looking to add another talented veteran tight end in the near future.
Long time Charger Antonio Gates was released back in April. He told media that he intends to come back for a 16th NFL season but he has not received any offers and is still on the open market in free agency.
Hunter Henry took over Gates’ role as starting tight end quickly in his second season, but Gates still had much to offer the team. At 38 years old, Gates sure looked like he had plenty left in the tank after the way he performed towards the end of the season: 11 receptions, 137 receiving yards, two touchdowns over the final three game span.
Rivers told media this past year that he has talked with Gates about the possibility of him returning to the team. “I keep checking with him every so often…if 85 (Gates’ former number) trotted back out here, it would be exciting to have one more season with him.”
The Rivers-Gates duo has been one of the most prolific quarterback-tight end duos in the history of the league so it makes sense for Rivers to be excited if Gates were to be his teammate once again.
It was said that Gates gained a little bit of weight towards the end of his career, so if the possibility still exists of Gates returning to his former team he will need to lean out a bit before returning to the team, and quickly since the regular season starts in less than a month.
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