Los Angeles Chargers: Effects of Hunter Henry injury

Hunter Henry suffered a devastating injury that has the Los Angeles Chargers offense (and fans) searching for ways to replace him.

A few words of hope for fans: The last Los Angeles Chargers player to lacerate their kidney and follow it up with a torn ACL was Keenan Allen, who went on to have 102 catches, 1,393 yards, and even an interception in the following season. So, there’s hope for the young tight end, Hunter Henry, who suffered a knee injury that will knock him out for 2018.

Unfortunately, injuries are a major part of one of the most violent sports in the country, and Henry is just the latest victim. How the medical world has not come up with a legitimate solution to preventing non-contact ACL tears outside of knee braces is beyond me. Henry was slated to become the tight end on the roster with Antonio Gates’ departure; to have an injury occur at this particular moment was untimely.

As stated in the most recently in this site’s weekly Chargers Saturday Mailbag, this article will cover many of your submitted questions and reactions regarding Henry’s injury in a two-slide format. The first part, as many of you asked about, talks about how to replace him:

Replacing Henry

There are three legitimate ways the Chargers can do this:

1. Distribute his catches to other receivers/assign his run-blocking to other players
2. Bring back Antonio Gates/sign a familiar tight end
3. Ask Philip Rivers how on earth he played with a torn ACL and figure out how to run with that

The first option, in my opinion, is the most likely. Henry caught 45 passes last season, which is actually a surprisingly low average of 3.21 receptions per game across 14 games played. Can the Chargers find anyone on this roster to pick up that loss? Absolutely!

Allen, Melvin Gordon, and Mike Williams will be the most likely beneficiaries. As for helping the run, I am a firm believer that Virgil Green was brought in to line up on the line and free Henry from blocking duties. That role will likely not change even post-injury, and a combination of Green with fullback Derek Watt should be able to alleviate some concerns.

One of the most difficult places to replace Henry will be in the red zone:

For as few catches as he gets, Henry tends to really show up in the red zone making beautiful catches and adjustments you love to see from your tight end. Bringing back Gates would be a good option here, as the end zone is the only area where Gates can still be effective every game.

Still, why risk throwing the ball when you can punch the ball in with an upgraded offensive line? Even when Gordon fumbles the ball, it turns into a touchdown (no, seriously). He’s an effective pass-catcher within the 20-yard line as well, grabbing four for a touchdown last season.

I’m going to miss Henry’s presence during games, and his increased involvement in games last year really kicked off the offense to go on their first mini three-game win streak to break the season open. The good news is, every cloud has a silver lining: Let’s take a look at some of the ways this may benefit the team…