2016 NFL free agency: Who signs Antonio Gates?

Will the San Diego Chargers be able to retain their starting tight end Antonio Gates in NFL free agency?

In 2003, the San Diego Chargers took a chance on a basketball player looking to make the NFL his career. The move paid off big time as they have featured one of the best tight ends in the league throughout the past 13 seasons with Antonio Gates.

The 6-foot-4 Gates weighs in at 260 pounds and has recorded 844 receptions for 10,644 yards and 104 touchdowns throughout his career. Now at 35 years old, the team and player have a choice to make as Gates is a free agent this offseason.

Vitals

Age: 35
Notable stat: 14 career sacks
Pro Bowls: 8
All-Pro Teams: 5

Contract comparison

Back in 2013, the Atlanta Falcons gave a two-year deal to their veteran tight end, Tony Gonzales. At the time, Gonzales was about to enter his 17th NFL season, but was still a valuable asset to his team.

The deal given to Gonzales was for a total of $14 million, but half of that was guaranteed in the first season alone. Gates may not be as effective at this point in his career as Gonzales was, but he is a couple of years younger which makes this a decent target for Gates and his management team.

Estimate: Two years, $12 million, $6.5 million guaranteed

Will he stay?

The Chargers would probably prefer to say goodbye to Gates and save the money, and that looked to be the plan as they gave significant playing time to his former backup Ladarius Green. The younger tight end didn’t do enough to justify letting Gates walk as he recorded just 37 receptions for 429 yards and four touchdowns in his 13 games (11 starts) while Gates had 56 receptions for 630 yards and five scores in 11 games (4 starts).

In the end, look for the Chargers to give Gates a good deal on a short-term basis as he and his long-time quarterback Philip Rivers look to make another run at a division title.