Hunter Henry slated to return for playoff game against Ravens

Amidst the news of playoff berths and coach firings, Monday has brought a significant piece of news to Chargers fans: Hunter Henry is on schedule to suit up for this weekend’s game.

The other side of that good news is that Melvin Gordon is also expected to play. Austin Ekeler also did a great job yesterday, and that solidifies a very impressive offensive corps. The offense is looking to be at nearly full strength for the first time this season, and it couldn’t come at a better moment.

Henry suffered a noncontact ACL tear during organized team activities in May and has missed the entire regular season. Following the injury, the Chargers signed off-and-on love-interest tight end Antonio Gates to a one-year contract. That contract, by the way, wasn’t signed until the week before the season began, so it truly has been a rollercoaster of concern for the Chargers faithful this season.

Gates performed admirably through the season, and he lead the Chargers’ tight ends in catches (28), receiving yards (333) and touchdowns (2).

Henry should make quite an impact if he’s at 75% strength or better. In his rookie season, he scored the second-most touchdowns by a rookie tight end in the last decade (8, only behind Rob Gronkowski), and scored the fifth most touchdowns by a rookie tight end in NFL history. In 2017, he finished the season with 45 receptions for 579 yards and four touchdowns. He left the season in late December with a kidney laceration, but was expected to be a force this year until his ACL injury derailed so many plans.

We will see how well he practices this week, and all eyes will be on the field this weekend as he adds another valuable weapon to Philip Rivers’ impressive arsenal.

-Jason “Love me some tight ends” Michaels