Chargers' Henry 'ready to step up' at tight end

Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry admits to feeling the weight of great expectation as he heads into his first season without Antonio Gates by his side.

That extra weight became real after the Chargers bid farewell to the 38-year-old Gates on Monday.

"When I came in, it can be an intimidating thing when you come into that situation -- a Hall of Famer, first ballot, and one of the greatest tight ends of all time (playing with you). So, it can be intimidating, but he took me under his wing and taught me everything he could these past two years," Henry said, via the Los Angeles Times. "It's been incredible. He's still a great friend of mine. I talk to him. I was with him a couple of weekends ago. It's been really cool to be able to play with him these past two years.

"But definitely, I'm ready to step up. ... I'm ready to go."

The transition from Gates to the 23-year-old Henry started in 2016 when the club used a second-round pick on the Arkansas product. Henry recorded 45 receptions for 579 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games in 2017 before a lacerated kidney ended his season.

"That kind of injury is really tough. It's a freak injury. I felt like I took care of myself really well last year, and to have something like that happen, where I have to miss games for something I can't control, it's really hard to take," Henry said. "It's something where I can't push my rehab to try and get back on the field and something I can't play through because I kind of look at myself like, if it's an injury, I feel like I can play through it. I just kind of have that tough factor about me. But with something internal, it's hard. You can't play around with that."

Considered a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Gates had a reduced role with the Chargers in 2017, playing 478 snaps and making 30 receptions for 316 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Gates hadn't had fewer that 49 catches in a season since recording 30 as a rookie.

An eight-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, Gates is the Chargers' all-time leader in receptions (927), receiving yards (11,508) and touchdowns (114), with his touchdown total an NFL record for tight ends.

Gates has caught 87 touchdown passes from Philip Rivers, the most in league history for a quarterback-tight end tandem.

He also has 21 games in his career with more than 100 receiving yards, one of only seven tight ends to achieve that feat.