Tag: Antonio Gates

Chargers great tight end Antonio Gates announces retirement

Antonio Gates, the great tight end of the Chargers, has officially retired.

A Chargers veteran who spent his entire career with the team announced his retirement Tuesday. It wasn’t Philip Rivers. However, the man who was on the receiving end of many of the quarterback’s passes, Antonio Gates, has decided to step away from the game.

Gates last played in 2018. He sent out a message via social media regarding his decision.

Some of the stats on an amazing career for someone who played college basketball at Kent State and was undrafted in 2003.

2010-2019 All-Decade team for Chargers: Offense

Introducing the offense of the Chargers’ All-Decade team for the 2010s:

The decade is coming to an end. Even though the Chargers haven’t had a lot of success in the past 10 years, making the playoffs only twice in that timespan, they possessed a slew of players that helped them along the way.

With that said, here is my Chargers 2010-2019 All-Decade team on the offensive side of the ball:

Quarterback: Philip Rivers

Rivers is a given here. Including the playoffs, Rivers has 235 consecutive starts, which is second among quarterbacks. He is the franchise’s leader in passing yards (59,271), touchdowns (397) and completions (4,908).

Running back: Melvin Gordon

This was a tough decision between Gordon and Ryan Mathews, but the former Wisconsin product has been more productive statistically. Though it’s not by much, Gordon amassed 133 more rushing yards than Mathews and he has him beat in the rushing touchdown category, as he has 35 to Mathews’ 23 scores.

Wide receiver: Keenan Allen, Malcolm Floyd, Vincent Jackson

Allen is going to go down one of the best receivers to play in a Chargers uniform. Since being selected in the third-round of the 2013 NFL draft, he has broken a few records. In total, he has amassed 524 receptions, 6,405 yards and 34 touchdowns. Floyd, a fan favorite, totaled 321 catches for 5,550 yards and 34 touchdowns. Jackson, Rivers’ go-to deep target, had 272 receptions for 4,754 yards and 37 touchdowns as a Charger.

Tight end: Antonio Gates

Gates, the record holder for touchdown receptions among tight ends, will go down as one of the best to play the position. He is the franchise leader in receptions (955), receiving yards (11,841) and touchdown catches (116) by a wide margin.

Left tackle: Russell Okung

Left guard: Kris Dielman

Center: Nick Hardwick

Right guard: Jeromey Clary

Right tackle: Marcus McNeill

Okung is one of the three Chargers offensive lineman to make a Pro Bowl appearance this decade. Dielman earned four consecutive Pro Bowl invitations. Hardwick started 136 games for the Chargers, playing in all 16 games five times in his career. Clary never made a Pro Bowl, but he was well respected for his work ethic, leadership and consistency, taking the field for more than 2,400 consecutive offensive snaps at one point. McNeill helped the Bolts with their rushing attack, earning a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first two seasons.

Jets WR Robby Anderson joins exclusive undrafted free agent club

Robby Anderson became the fifth NFL player to reach 3,000 receiving yards in his first four seasons after entering the league as a UDFA.

Robby Anderson’s season began rather quietly, but the fourth-year receiver recently joined an exclusive club of undrafted players.

Anderson became the fifth NFL player since 1970 to reach 3,000 receiving yards in his first four seasons after entering the league as an undrafted free agent. The list includes former Jets WR Wayne Chrebet, an undrafted free agent out of Hofstra.

Here’s the full list:

3,000 Receiving Yards Club
Player Team 1st 4 Yrs Recs Yds Avg TDs
1. Victor Cruz NYG 2010-13 241 3626 15.0 23
2. Wayne Chrebet NYJ 1995-98 283 3517 12.4 18
3. Antonio Gates SD 2003-06 265 3378 12.7 34
4. Drew Pearson DAL 1973-76 188 3103 16.5 18
5. Robby Anderson NYJ 2016-19 202 3009 14.9 19
Through the first four games this season, Anderson had just 11 receptions for 131 yards. When Sam Darnold returned from his bout with mono, Anderson immediately jumped back onto the scene. In Week 6 against Dallas, he caught five passes for 125 yards, including a 92-yard score.

With his name circling trade rumors and the Jets offense reeling, Anderson’s production again hit a standstill. However, over the past four games, he has been red hot. In his past four contests, Anderson has caught 22 of 34 targets for 370 yards and two scores.

His Thursday night performance put him over the 3,000-yard mark. Anderson caught four passes for 66 yards in the Jets’ 42-21 loss to the Ravens on Thursday Night Football.

With two games left to play against two of the best defensive backfields in the NFL, it’s unlikely that Anderson is going to set any career highs. Anderson is 271 yards shy of 1,000 for the season.

Still, he continues to put himself in a position to get paid this offseason when he hits free agency. It remains to be seen if the Jets will be the ones to pay him, but Anderson is due for a sizeable contract nonetheless.

Chargers TE Hunter Henry lights out since returning from injury

Hunter Henry is making his case to get a nice paycheck after the season.

It’s like he never lost a step.

Since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him on the season-opener for four weeks, tight end Hunter Henry has been remarkable. Henry has caught 39 passes for 487 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 12.5 yards per reception and has caught 72.2% of his targets.

With the injuries that hit the wide receiver position within the time he was out, it only allowed for his opportunities to increase. That has been the case and it has been evident that Henry has been quarterback Philip Rivers’ main man, as he’s received nearly eight targets per game since his return.

Henry has either racked up 80+ yards or a touchdown in four of his six games back to the lineup.

Like former Chargers great Antonio Gates once was as Rivers’ go-to guy, Henry appears to have filled the shoes in the former Arkansas product’s first season as the featured tight end.

Henry, 24, is slated to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Los Angeles will have a slew of players that they will have to re-sign and he is atop of the list. Even though staying healthy has been an issue throughout his professional career, he is easily one of the league’s best tight ends and the production is there to back it up.

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LB Thomas Davis nominated by Chargers for Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award

Thomas Davis is the nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.

The Chargers signed linebacker Thomas Davis this past offseason not only for because of the contributions on the field, but for who the person he is to add spark to the locker room and on the field with his leadership skills.

It didn’t take long for Davis to deliver that type of energy to the team upon his arrival from Carolina.

On Thursday, Davis was honored by Los Angeles as their nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. The award recognizes players who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field.

Last season, the Chargers nominated tight end Antonio Gates. Gates was one of the eight finalists for the award, but quarterback Drew Brees went on to win the award.

The winner will be announced before the Super Bowl at the NFL Honors show and will be determined by a vote from current players. Eight finalists will be selected in December.

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