Former Chargers TE Antonio Gates officially calls it a career

Former star tight end Antonio Gates went through the entire 2019 season without playing for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Gates made it official on Tuesday morning that he is retiring from the NFL. He hangs up his cleats after 16 seasons in the league, all spent with the Chargers. (H/T Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk)

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“I never dreamed that I would play this game of football so long or how fortunate I would be to play it with just one organization. I want to thank the Chargers organization, the National Football League, Dean Spanos and the Spanos family for the opportunity to live out a dream and play the game I love.”

Gates put together an illustrious career with Los Angeles. His 16 seasons saw him tally 955 catches for 11,841 receiving yards and 116 touchdowns. He’s currently ranked third all-time among tight ends in catches and is first at the position in touchdowns.

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Gates was a primary factor in the Chargers’ offense throughout the bulk of his career. He rose to prominence as one of Philip Rivers’ primary targets. That saw him record north of 1,000 receiving yards twice. As well as that, he had double-digit touchdown four times. Additionally, he had more than 500 receiving yards 13 times. Like Tony Gonzalez, he helped further revolutionize the position with his ability to be a major factor in the passing game.

All of this should land Gates into the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day as he was one of the most productive players at the position in league history that made a significant impact on the game.