Chargers tight end Antonio Gates had a difficult offseason as he spent time away from the team while his younger sister battled Lupus in a fight she eventually lost at the far too young age of 22 this summer.
Gates said he found solace in being on the football field in the wake of his sister’s death and he’s looked quite comfortable over the first two weeks of the regular season. Gates had six catches for 81 yards in the opener and followed that up with an even better performance in San Diego’s 30-21 victory over the Seahawks.
Gates caught seven passes for 96 yards with three of those passes from Philip Rivers going for touchdowns as the Chargers knocked off the defending Super Bowl champions. Those scores left him with 90 receiving touchdowns for his career, which ranks 11th in NFL history and leaves him 21 behind Tony Gonzalez when the list is whittled to include only tight ends.
It’s the first time that Gates has been so honored by the NFL, something that comes as a bit of a surprise given how good Gates has been over the course of his 12 years in the NFL.