Chargers GM Tom Telesco Says Re-Signing Antonio Gates Remains Possibility

Chargers GM Tom Telesco said during an appearance on the “Petros and Money show” this Thursday that re-signing veteran TE Antonio Gates as a replacement to Hunter Henry remains a possibility.

“There’s no update right now,” Telesco said, via ESPN.com. “We’ll see where things go next week. We’ve got a couple, different possibilities. We had talked about one obviously with Antonio Gates, and we’ll see where that goes. We’ve got some time here next week, so we’ll see what happens.

“Losing Hunter was a blow at the time, it is now but you have to overcome it. That’s what you have to do.”

Last we heard regarding Gates returning to the Chargers, Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News reported the team has reached out to Gates about re-signing with the team, but it “remains unclear” whether they will sign him.

There has been some traction regarding Gates returning to play for the Chargers following the injury to Henry, so it will be interesting to see if the two sides can agree to a contract in the near future.

Back in May, Chargers QB Philip Rivers said he would “be excited” to play with Gates again and is for the team re-signing the veteran.

I’d always be excited if he walked back in the door,” Rivers said, per Wang. “It would get my vote.”

Gates, 37, signed on with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent out of Kent State back in 2003 and has spent his entire 15-year NFL career with the team. He finished out the final year of his two-year, $11 million contract that included $6 million guaranteed and a base salary of $4.5 million for the 2017 season.

Gates is testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

In 2017 Gates appeared in all 16 games and caught 30 passes for 316 yards receiving and three touchdowns for the Chargers. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 17 tight end out of 71 qualifying players.

We have him featured in our Top 50 Available 2018 NFL Free Agents list.