With Henry out, Chargers plan to look at all tight end options, including Antonio Gates
It’s difficult to quantify the loss of Hunter Henry, the Chargers tight end who tore a right-knee ligament while running a simple out route Tuesday and will undergo surgery that will sideline him for the 2018 season.
Henry, a second-round pick out of Arkansas in 2016, established himself as one of the NFL’s emerging tight ends in his first two seasons, proficient in both receiving and blocking. He has shown a knack for making big plays and a work ethic and personality that made him a favorite among teammates, coaches and club officials.
“I’m not gonna minimize it — he’s a Pro Bowl talent with Pro Bowl intangibles,” Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco said Wednesday. “But as bad as we feel about losing him, and as bad as the fans feel about it, Hunter feels worse.
“He knows he was going to be a big part of this team, and he feels like he let us down. I told him, ‘Look, you did not let this football team down. You went out there and practiced the way you always do, and these things happen.’ ”
Henry, 23, tore an anterior cruciate ligament during the team’s first organized practice on a route he has run hundreds of times.
“He caught the ball, cut up field and finished the route 40 yards downfield at about 50% speed,” Telesco said. “He jogged back and felt like something grabbed at him. It’s not typical to see ACL injuries like that, but they happen in all different ways. It was a very routine, non-contact play.”
The only positive thing about the injury is its timing. The Chargers have 3½ months before the Sept. 9 season opener against Kansas City to fill the void.
“We’ll look at all of our options out there,” Telesco said.
Telesco seemed non-committal when asked if one of those options is veteran tight end Antonio Gates, whom the Chargers essentially cut ties with in April.
“I said all options,” Telesco said, “so we’ll look at all of them.”
The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Gates, who turns 38 in June, caught 927 passes for 11,508 yards and 114 touchdowns in 15 seasons with the Chargers, setting an NFL record for scoring receptions by a tight end.
He had 30 catches for 316 yards and three touchdowns in a reduced role last season but remained sure-handed in the red zone and in short-yardage situations.
With Henry missing the final two games because of a lacerated kidney, Gates closed with two strong games, catching six passes for 81 yards and a touchdown against the New York Jets and four passes for 46 yards against Oakland.
Among the other potential free-agent targets are Julius Thomas (Dolphins), Coby Fleener (Saints), Crockett Gillmore (Ravens), Marcedes Lewis (Jaguars), Zach Miller (Bears) and Clay Harbor (Saints).
The Chargers signed Virgil Green to a three-year, $8.6-million contract in March, but the former Broncos tight end is more of a blocking specialist who has not caught more than 22 passes in any of his seven seasons.
Tight ends Braedon Bowman, Sean Culkin, Cole Hunt and Ben Johnson are on the 90-man roster, but none has caught a pass in the NFL.
“We have some young players that we think have chance to develop,” Telesco said. “We’ll see if some of these guys can ascend.”
The Chargers also have a deep and talented core of receivers led by Keenan Allen, Tyrone Williams and Mike Williams, and running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler are pass-catching threats, so they could de-emphasize the tight end in an offense led by veteran quarterback Philip Rivers.
“It’s gonna be harder without Hunter, but let me be clear, we will adapt and move on,” Telesco said. “[Coach] Anthony Lynn and [offensive coordinator] Ken Whisenhunt are both very smart, adaptable coaches. It may be a different way than we mapped out originally, but we’ll find a way.”
The 6-foot-5, 253-pound Henry caught 36 passes for 478 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games in 2016 and 45 passes for 579 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games in 2017.
Though he seemed to disappear from the game plan at times, Henry had several huge games, catching seven passes for 80 yards against Miami on Sept. 17, five passes for 90 yards against Oakland on Oct. 15 and seven passes for 81 yards against Cleveland on Dec. 3. The Chargers went 7-1 when Henry was targeted at least five times and 0-6 when he was not.
Pro Football Focus ranked Henry the NFL’s second-best tight end in 2017 and rated him among the top five in receiving and blocking. The website recently ranked Henry 24th on its list of the best NFL players who will be under 25 at the start of the 2018 season.
Henry seemed destined for a more prominent role when the Chargers announced they would not re-sign Gates in April, but the earliest Henry can assume that role now is 2019. He will spend most of the next year rehabilitating his knee.
“You have to get over that mental hurdle, especially with an injury that knocks you out for the year,” Telesco said. “It takes time for that, but he’s pretty strong mentally, and we’re here to support him.”
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DiGiovanna writes for the Los Angeles Times.
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ThursdayAt Taiheiyo Club GotembaGotemba, JapanPurse: $2.25 millionYardage: 7,262; Par: 70a-amateurFirst Round Suspended for DarknessPaul Yannik, England34-31—65Taisei Shimizu, Japan33-32—65Taiki Yoshida, Japan31-34—65Tomoyo Ikemura, Japan31-34—65Sebastian Soderberg, Sweden34-32—66Keita Nakajima, Japan34-32—66Ryousuke Kinoshita, Japan34-32—66Haotong Li, China33-33—66Yuki Inamori, Japan33-33—66Connor Syme, Scotland32-34—66Casey Jarvis, South Africa31-35—66Flippo Celli, Italy34-33—67Rafa Cabrera Bello, Spain33-34—67Shugo Imahira, Japan35-32—67Adrian Otaegui, Spain34-33—67Joel Girrbach, Switzerland36-31—67Marcus Helligkilde, Denmark36-31—67Francesco Laporta, Italy34-33—67Grant Forrest, Scotland34-33—67Koshiro Maeda, Japan36-31—67Richie Ramsay, Scotland32-35—67Niklas Norgaard, Denmark36-32—68Naoyuki Kataoka, Japan34-34—68Marcus Armitage, England31-37—68Taihei Sato, Japan32-36—68Manuel Elvira, Spain34-34—68Matthieu Pavon, France34-34—68Yuta Sugiura, Japan34-34—68Jacques Kruyswijk, South Africa35-33—68Aguri Iwaski, Japan34-34—68Jordan Smith, England33-35—68Yosuke Tsukada, Japan34-34—68Gavin Green, Malaysia32-37—69Taiga Semikawa, Japan35-34—69Tom Mckibbin, Northern Ireland33-36—69Juvic Pagunsan, Philippines34-35—69Calum Hill, Scotland34-35—69Joost Luiten, Netherlands35-34—69Kazuki Higa, Japan34-35—69Mike Lorenzo-Vera, France34-35—69Scott Jamieson, Scotland33-36—69Adrien Saddier, France33-36—69Freddy Schott, Germany36-33—69Ren Yonezawa, Japan37-32—69Shunya Takeyasu, Japan36-33—69Espen Kofstad, Norway34-35—69Tomoharu Otsuki, Japan36-33—69Lukas Nemecz, Austria34-35—69Brandon Stone, South Africa35-34—69Jonas Blixt, Sweden35-35—70Sebastian Friedrichsen, Denmark34-36—70Andy Sullivan, England35-35—70Fabrizio Zanotti, Paraguay34-36—70Dylan Frittelli, South Africa34-36—70Will Enefer, England36-34—70Adri Arnaus, Spain36-34—70Satoshi Kodaira, Japan33-37—70Zander Lombard, South Africa35-35—70Antoine Rozner, France37-33—70Lorenzo Scalise, Italy36-34—70Justin De Los Santos, Philippines36-34—70Kosuke Suzuki, Japan37-34—71Shotaro Tanaka, Japan32-39—71Matteo Manassero, Italy35-36—71Hurly Long, Germany35-36—71Romain Langasque, France37-34—71Dan Bradbury, England38-33—71Taichi Nabetani, Japan35-36—71Bernd Wiesberger, Austri36-35—71Shaun Norris, South Africa36-35—71Matthias Schwab, Austria36-35—71Richard Mansell, England38-34—72Jason Scrivener, Australia37-35—72Matthew Baldwin, England38-34—72Toru Taniguchi, Japan37-35—72Santiago Tarrio, Spain34-39—73Kodai Ichihara, Japan37-36—73Ryutaro Nagano, Japan38-35—73Hideto Tanihara, Japan40-34—74Shota Matsumoto, Japan38-36—74Renato Paratore, Italy39-36—75Shubhankar Sharma, India37-38—75Ugo Coussaud, France39-37—76Did Not FinishTaiga Nagano, JapanAlejandro Del Rey, SpainGuido Migliozzi, ItalyJulien Guerrier, FranceSoren Kjeldsen, DenmarkSam Bairstow, EnglandTom Vaillant, FranceTom Lewis, EnglandKensei Hirata, JapanEwen Ferguson, ScotlandKiradech Aphibarnrat, ThailandJames Morrison, EnglandChristiaan Bezuidenhout, South AfricaAnthony Quayle, AustraliaMashiro Kawamura, JapanChase Hanna, United StatesClement Sordet, Francea-Rintaro Nakano, JapanMatthew Jordan, EnglandLouis De Jager, South AfricaYuta Kinoshita, JapanDaniel Hillier, New ZealandYuto Katsuragawa, JapanTakumi Kanaya, JapanHiroshi Iwata, JapanJens Dantorp, SwedenMarco Penge, EnglandAngel Hidalgo, SpainYounghan Song, South KoreaJeong weon Ko, FranceGuntaek Koh, South KoreaBrad Kennedy, AustraliaMarcel Schneider, GermanyHaydn Barron, AustraliaKazuma Kobori, New ZealandPablo Larrazabal, SpainDavid Law, ScotlandTaiga Sugihara, JapanJesper Svensson, SwedenJeff Winther, DenmarkDaan Huizing, NetherlandsMikumu Horikawa, JapanJiho Yang, South KoreaShintaro Kobayashi, JapanJulien Brun, FranceNaoto Nakanishi, JapanPaul Waring, EnglandJordan Gumberg, United StatesOckie Strydom, South AfricaMaximilian Kieffer, GermanyAshun Wu, Republic of ChinaRiki Kawamoto, JapanRoss Fisher, EnglandGunner Wiebe, United StatesRicardo Gouveia, PortugalFrederic Lacroix, FranceTakahiro Hataji, JapanNicolas Colsaerts, BelgiumTaichi Kho, Hong KongMikiya Akutsu, JapanIvan Cantero, SpainRyo Ishikawa, JapanYusaku Hosono, JapanMarcus Kinhult, SwedenYusaku Miyazato, JapanTakashi Ogiso, JapanStephen Gallacher, ScotlandGuxin Chen, Republic of ChinaEdoardo Molinari, ItalyRetiredSean Crocker, United StatesLeaderboardSCORETHRUYannik Paul-518Taisei Shimizu-518Taiki Yoshida-518Tomoyo Ikemura-518Taiga Nagano-511
ThursdayAt Taiheiyo Club GotembaGotemba, JapanPurse: $2.25 millionYardage: 7,262; Par: 70a-amateurFirst Round Suspended for DarknessPaul Yannik, England34-31—65-5Taisei Shimizu, Japan33-32—65-5Taiki Yoshida, Japan31-34—65-5Tomoyo Ikemura, Japan31-34—65-5Sebastian Soderberg, Sweden34-32—66-4Keita Nakajima, Japan34-32—66-4Ryousuke Kinoshita, Japan34-32—66-4Haotong Li, China33-33—66-4Yuki Inamori, Japan33-33—66-4Connor Syme, Scotland32-34—66-4Casey Jarvis, South Africa31-35—66-4Flippo Celli, Italy34-33—67-3Rafa Cabrera Bello, Spain33-34—67-3Shugo Imahira, Japan35-32—67-3Adrian Otaegui, Spain34-33—67-3Joel Girrbach, Switzerland36-31—67-3Marcus Helligkilde, Denmark36-31—67-3Francesco Laporta, Italy34-33—67-3Grant Forrest, Scotland34-33—67-3Koshiro Maeda, Japan36-31—67-3Richie Ramsay, Scotland32-35—67-3Niklas Norgaard, Denmark36-32—68-2Naoyuki Kataoka, Japan34-34—68-2Marcus Armitage, England31-37—68-2Taihei Sato, Japan32-36—68-2Manuel Elvira, Spain34-34—68-2Matthieu Pavon, France34-34—68-2Yuta Sugiura, Japan34-34—68-2Jacques Kruyswijk, South Africa35-33—68-2Aguri Iwaski, Japan34-34—68-2Jordan Smith, England33-35—68-2Yosuke Tsukada, Japan34-34—68-2Gavin Green, Malaysia32-37—69-1Taiga Semikawa, Japan35-34—69-1Tom Mckibbin, Northern Ireland33-36—69-1Juvic Pagunsan, Philippines34-35—69-1Calum Hill, Scotland34-35—69-1Joost Luiten, Netherlands35-34—69-1Kazuki Higa, Japan34-35—69-1Mike Lorenzo-Vera, France34-35—69-1Scott Jamieson, Scotland33-36—69-1Adrien Saddier, France33-36—69-1Freddy Schott, Germany36-33—69-1Ren Yonezawa, Japan37-32—69-1Shunya Takeyasu, Japan36-33—69-1Espen Kofstad, Norway34-35—69-1Tomoharu Otsuki, Japan36-33—69-1Lukas Nemecz, Austria34-35—69-1Brandon Stone, South Africa35-34—69-1Jonas Blixt, Sweden35-35—70ESebastian Friedrichsen, Denmark34-36—70EAndy Sullivan, England35-35—70EFabrizio Zanotti, Paraguay34-36—70EDylan Frittelli, South Africa34-36—70EWill Enefer, England36-34—70EAdri Arnaus, Spain36-34—70ESatoshi Kodaira, Japan33-37—70EZander Lombard, South Africa35-35—70EAntoine Rozner, France37-33—70ELorenzo Scalise, Italy36-34—70EJustin De Los Santos, Philippines36-34—70EKosuke Suzuki, Japan37-34—71+1Shotaro Tanaka, Japan32-39—71+1Matteo Manassero, Italy35-36—71+1Hurly Long, Germany35-36—71+1Romain Langasque, France37-34—71+1Dan Bradbury, England38-33—71+1Taichi Nabetani, Japan35-36—71+1Bernd Wiesberger, Austri36-35—71+1Shaun Norris, South Africa36-35—71+1Matthias Schwab, Austria36-35—71+1Richard Mansell, England38-34—72+2Jason Scrivener, Australia37-35—72+2Matthew Baldwin, England38-34—72+2Toru Taniguchi, Japan37-35—72+2Santiago Tarrio, Spain34-39—73+3Kodai Ichihara, Japan37-36—73+3Ryutaro Nagano, Japan38-35—73+3Hideto Tanihara, Japan40-34—74+4Shota Matsumoto, Japan38-36—74+4Renato Paratore, Italy39-36—75+5Shubhankar Sharma, India37-38—75+5Ugo Coussaud, France39-37—76+6Did Not FinishTaiga Nagano, JapanAlejandro Del Rey, SpainGuido Migliozzi, ItalyJulien Guerrier, FranceSoren Kjeldsen, DenmarkSam Bairstow, EnglandTom Vaillant, FranceTom Lewis, EnglandKensei Hirata, JapanEwen Ferguson, ScotlandKiradech Aphibarnrat, ThailandJames Morrison, EnglandChristiaan Bezuidenhout, South AfricaAnthony Quayle, AustraliaMashiro Kawamura, JapanChase Hanna, United StatesClement Sordet, Francea-Rintaro Nakano, JapanMatthew Jordan, EnglandLouis De Jager, South AfricaYuta Kinoshita, JapanDaniel Hillier, New ZealandYuto Katsuragawa, JapanTakumi Kanaya, JapanHiroshi Iwata, JapanJens Dantorp, SwedenMarco Penge, EnglandAngel Hidalgo, SpainYounghan Song, South KoreaJeong weon Ko, FranceGuntaek Koh, South KoreaBrad Kennedy, AustraliaMarcel Schneider, GermanyHaydn Barron, AustraliaKazuma Kobori, New ZealandPablo Larrazabal, SpainDavid Law, ScotlandTaiga Sugihara, JapanJesper Svensson, SwedenJeff Winther, DenmarkDaan Huizing, NetherlandsMikumu Horikawa, JapanJiho Yang, South KoreaShintaro Kobayashi, JapanJulien Brun, FranceNaoto Nakanishi, JapanPaul Waring, EnglandJordan Gumberg, United StatesOckie Strydom, South AfricaMaximilian Kieffer, GermanyAshun Wu, Republic of ChinaRiki Kawamoto, JapanRoss Fisher, EnglandGunner Wiebe, United StatesRicardo Gouveia, PortugalFrederic Lacroix, FranceTakahiro Hataji, JapanNicolas Colsaerts, BelgiumTaichi Kho, Hong KongMikiya Akutsu, JapanIvan Cantero, SpainRyo Ishikawa, JapanYusaku Hosono, JapanMarcus Kinhult, SwedenYusaku Miyazato, JapanTakashi Ogiso, JapanStephen Gallacher, ScotlandGuxin Chen, Republic of ChinaEdoardo Molinari, ItalyRetiredSean Crocker, United StatesLeaderboardSCORETHRUYannik Paul-518Taisei Shimizu-518Taiki Yoshida-518Tomoyo Ikemura-518Taiga Nagano-511
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