San Diego Chargers TE Antonio Gates Doesn't Want to Play So Much Next Season

Antonio Gates is a great player. He will go down as one of the best tight ends in the game and will be inducted in to the Hall of Fame more than likely as soon as he is eligible--but he needs to retire. Yes, he is still productive after 12 seasons and had a great year last year. Yes, he is still capable of producing at a high level and with Phillip Rivers throwing him the ball he will see plenty of action net season as well.

So why should he retire? In a recent interview he said he doesn't want to play as much next season.

via Reddit

In a post on MMQB Gates talked about how he played a lot last season; more than expected because of injuries to other guys. Going forward he would rather be a situational guy rather than an every down guy.

“With injuries and whatnot, I played a little bit more than they expected me to play last season,” he says. “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.”

On one hand you can appreciate his honesty. He is concerned about his own health and now that he is getting older he is more concerned about his health. He doesn't participate in OTA's anymore and hasn't run a route since last season.

On the other hand when a guy doesn't want to play as much anymore that is typically considered a sign. When the drive to play starts to wane it is typically considered time to go. When your desire to play drops your desire to prepare drops meaning your game in general is likely going to drop off.

Then fans start to wonder what happened to you because you were a stud, but now you hardly play and when you do you are not very effective. Now it is hard to imagine Antonio Gates not killing it on 3rd and 7 plays and in the red zone, but it is also not unusual to see the mighty fall. It typically happens when the don't want to be the guy anymore, and Gates doesn't want to be the guy.

Before he falls, maybe--just maybe--he should consider hanging it up instead.

[MMQB]

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