Chargers News: Tight end in question after Hunter Henry tears ACL
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Chargers took a huge blow before the 2018 season even began: starting tight end Hunter Henry tore his ACL in practice.
This is the last thing that any Chargers fan wanted to hear, especially before the season even begins. In typical Charger bad injury luck fashion, tight end Hunter Henry suffered a torn ACL in practice, the Chargers tweeted.
Henry took over the fulltime starting tight end job last season and was expected to take on a much larger workload after the Chargers announced they would not re-sign veteran Antonio Gates.
Henry was one of the best targets for Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers. Overall, Henry had 45 catches for 579 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games played last season. In games that Henry had at least five targets the Los Angeles Chargers were 7-1.
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The common return time for an NFL player after ACL surgery is 6-9 months. Meaning, in the best-case scenario, Hunter may be able to return for the final two or so games of the season. However, the Chargers may not be willing to take that risk, especially if the return time stretches towards the eight to nine-month range.
The rest of the tight end unit will have a hard time producing in the passing game. Next in line in Virgil Green, who was brought in as a run-blocking tight end. While he can still have a presence in the passing game, the fall off from Henry to Green is significant.
After that, the Chargers have Braedon Bowman and Cole Hunt, who have a combined zero receptions and three games played in their NFL careers. Hunt was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft.
It is unclear what the front office is going to do moving forward. The team can try to stick with the core they have or can explore the free agent or trade market for possible candidates. Expect an article from us tomorrow about who the team can bring in to replace Hunter, at least for this upcoming season.
Next: Biggest games of 2018 for Chargers
A season that is full of promise has already started on the wrong foot for the Los Angeles Chargers. Bolts fans are probably used to this kind of bad luck, though. It seemingly happens every single year.