News & Info/Headlines

Chargers tight end Hunter Henry suffered a torn ACL during OTAs on Tuesday, the team announced.

Henry suffered the season-ending injury during a drill, going down untouched while running downfield, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

It's a significant loss for the Chargers, who was set to assume the main pass-catching role with Antonio Gates not on their roster for the first time since 2003.

Henry had 45 catches for 579 yards and four TDs in 2017, his second season out of Arkansas. He averaged 12.9 yards per reception last season, the third-most among tight ends behind only Rob Gronkowski (15.7) and Vernon Davis (15.1)

Although Henry will get a second opinion Wednesday, the fact that the team announced it makes it likely we'll only get confirmation. That being the case, the Chargers may have to rethink moving on from Antonio Gates.

Remember: Henry ended last season on injured reserve with a lacerated kidney and that injury opened the door for more playing time for Gates.

As Profootballtalk.com notes, it looked like they would be his final games as a member of the team as the team said goodbye to him in April, but Gates reportedly wants to keep playing and it seems inevitable that the team will be asked about a change of heart if Henry’s initial diagnosis holds.

Virgil Green, Braedon Bowman, Sean Culkin, Cole Hunt and Ben Johnson are the other tight ends on the Chargers roster at the moment.