The San Diego Chargers might be finally giving tight end Ladarius Green more snaps and opportunities to catch the ball, although it mostly has to do with how much Antonio Gates will be used next season.
In an interview with Emily Kaplan of TheMMQB.com, Gates hinted that after two seasons of not missing a single game and producing at a very high level over the last two years (146 receptions, 1693 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 of them last year), he’s ready to scale back the workload and his time on the field.
With injuries and whatnot, I played a little bit more than they expected me to play last season. I was playing the whole game. How I feel next year, it depends on how much volume they have me doing. I’d like to come in on third-and-7s, red zones, those situations. That’s what my contribution is at anyway.
So if Gates is going to get more time of rest next season, does it mean that Green finally becomes the team’s number one tight end? Not entirely. Sort of, and it all depends on whether or not the Chargers draft a tight end, which is also an option.
Green, 24, who played college football for Louisiana-Lafayette, hasn’t done much in his three seasons with the team, drafted 110th overall (4th round) in the 2012 NFL draft.
He has 40 career receptions with 658 yards and three touchdowns for his career. You can expect a lot more from him, at least when it comes to Rivers (or someone else) targeting him before it’s time for Gates to come on.