The Chargers will be without Hunter Henry for an estimated four to six weeks, a player who does more than just catch passes in this offense.
The Chargers, unfortunately, will be missing tight end Hunter Henry for some time after he fractured his knee in the season opener against the Colts.
Posting four catches for 60 yards, Henry looked to be his old chain-moving self, making receptions for big gains to produce first downs. After over a year of waiting, Chargers fans got to see what their tight end would look like coming off an injury.
Some Chargers fans (and maybe fantasy football fans) were a bit disappointed with Henry early on, as he did not log a single catch for the entire first half. All four of his catches came in the second half, including one in overtime to put the Chargers at the Colts own 40.
What was he doing through most of the game? He was busy:
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1170816631188013058
There’s a key block (blocks, actually) for No. 86, always leading the way on big runs or screens to open up the offense. Aside from Derek Watt, Henry was one of the best blockers on Sunday.
Sure, he’s not an offensive tackle, but he run blocks like the best of them. Lined up next to Sam Tevi or Trent Scott, Henry could be found on every Ekeler touchdown making some sort of key block.
A problem for some of the fans calling for the return of Antonio Gates: He’s not a blocking tight end. With his name nearly matching his jersey number, Gates may not get the call to come in and replace Henry. It’s likely the team is going to prefer someone who can get their running game going, which looked outstanding on Sunday. Virgil Green played in 42 percent of the team’s offensive snaps, which will take a massive increase considering they had Henry play in 91 percent of those snaps.