Los Angeles Chargers: Three storylines to watch in preseason week 3
By Jason Reed
2. Who is going to win the tight end battle
Not re-signing Antonio Gates was especially frustrating after Hunter Henry tore his ACL and will most likely miss the entire season. Still, the Chargers front office stuck to their guns and decided not to re-sign Gates, at least not yet, and instead are letting the young tight ends on the depth chart battle it out.
The problem is that none of the tight ends have really emerged as clear-cut favorites to be a threat in the passing game and to actually get a good amount of snaps behind Virgil Green, who is set to be the Chargers’ starting tight end this season.
Green is a fine tight end, however, he excels at run blocking and that is why the Chargers brought him in as a second tight end. While he can have an impact in short yardage situations and in the red zone, Green is not really regarded as a huge pass threat.
Thus, the battle of the tight ends has become who will be that throwing option for Rivers to target. With such a good receiving corps, the Chargers do not need a Gates; all the team needs is someone athletic enough and good enough to catch the football to reel in open passes.
That may end up being Green, who is getting the most targets in the passing game thus far this preseason. Regardless, week 3 is going to be a big week to determine who will continue to fight for the job and who will be cut.