The Los Angeles Chargers made the decision this past week to move on from longtime tight end Antonio Gates after 15 seasons. This has Hunter Henry in the fold with a chance to grab ahold of the full-time starting role next season and possibly well beyond that.

With that in mind, Henry has voiced much praise and appreciation toward his time with Gates while airing his confidence that he can handle the increased responsibility that will be asked upon him, according to Dan Woike of The LA Times.

“When I came in, it can be an intimidating thing when you come into that situation — a Hall of Famer, first ballot, and one of the greatest tight ends of all time [playing with you]. So, it can be intimidating, but he took me under his wing and taught me everything he could these past two years,” Henry said of Gates. “It's been incredible. He's still a great friend of mine. I talk to him. I was with him a couple of weekends ago. It's been really cool to be able to play with him these past two years.

“But definitely, I'm ready to step up. … I'm ready to go.”

The 23-year-old has yet to fully break through as a legitimate starting tight end even with Gates playing a secondary role the last couple of years. He is coming off a respectable 2017 campaign where he had 45 catches for 579 receiving yards and four touchdowns. With the future Hall of Famer out of the mix, it should see more balls thrown his way, especially in the red zone where he could possibly be utilized best.

Henry has demonstrated that he can be a viable receiving threat when given the opportunity, which should bode well to the potential of what the 2018 campaign could bring if he's able to remain healthy. The Chargers have remained quite high on him with this move signaling that there is much trust that he can handle the full-time role.

It is now simply on his shoulders to prove that he can become a reliable primary feature in the passing game that could help fill the massive void left by Gates' departure.