Chargers GM uncertain of Gates' return
INDIANAPOLIS -- Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco is aware of Antonio Gates' desire to play at least one more season, but said on Thursday that he doesn't know if the future Hall of Fame tight end will return to the franchise in 2018.
"We'll talk to his agents this week," Telesco said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "There are still so many moving parts to free agency, and I will probably know more in a couple of weeks."
Gates, 37, caught 30 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns last season. The former basketball star and undrafted free agent out of Kent St. has built a Hall of Fame resume that includes 927 catches for 11,508 yards and 114 touchdowns over 220 regular-season games in 15 NFL seasons. Coach Anthony Lynn said he would "absolutely" be open to Gates' return, calling him "one of the greatest Chargers of all time."
Gates' role in the offense has diminished with the emergence of Hunter Henry, but Telesco said he "showed us at the end of the year what he can still do," as Gates caught 10 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown over the final two games of the season as the Chargers made a late playoff push.
He is now headed for free agency, and will turn 38 before the start of training camp. It is uncertain if Gates would consider playing for another team if the Chargers aren't interested in bringing him back.
Telesco called Gates an "iconic" player for the franchise, while Lynn praised how a future Hall of Fame player accepted his diminished role last season.
"There are certain players who still attack the game like a college free agent, and he's great in the locker room," Telesco said. "So we still have some work to do there. Those decisions aren't always easy."
--Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is 36, but is coming off a 2017 in which he threw for 4,515 yards and 28 touchdowns against only 10 interceptions. The team acquired Cardale Jones last year and 13-year veteran Kellen Clemens served as the primary backup last season.
The Chargers hold the 17th overall pick in next month's draft, but Telesco doesn't feel any additional pressure to land a quarterback of the future due to Rivers' age.
"It has been an emphasis every year, you never know when you're going to be in position to get that next guy," Telesco said. "We're in a great position (with Rivers at quarterback), so it is no different than it has been in past years."
Should the Chargers spend an early draft pick on a quarterback, Telesco certainly isn't worried about Rivers feeling threatened.
"There aren't many guys that I've been around who are better team guys," Telesco said. "So that would be the least of my concerns."
--Derek Harper, Field Level Media
