Gates suspended for 4 games
SAN DIEGO, CA (TheSpread) – The San Diego Chargers will be without their veteran tight end Antonio Gates for the first four games of the NFL season, as Gates violated the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Gates was among a handful of NFL Players that were given suspensions on Thursday. He will be eligible to begin the season in Week 5. Following the announcement of the suspension, Gates acknowledged his mistake, but said he didn’t knowingly take any banned substances.
“I take full responsibility for my actions,” Gates said. ”I’d like to express my sincere apologies to the Chargers, my teammates, coaches, fans and the league who have always supported me and expected and gotten nothing but the highest level of integrity from me.”
According to oddsmakers at GTBets, the Chargers are currently listed with 50/1 odds to win the Supers Bowl next season. The Green Bay Packers are favored right now with 6/1 odds, while the Seattle Seahawks have 13/2 odds.
Gates is on his way to a Hall of Fame career. He has caught 788 passes in his career for 10,014 yards and 99 touchdowns. He is coming off a 2014 season where he had 69 receptions for 821 yards with 12 touchdowns. It was the fourth time in his career where he had double-digit TD receptions and the seventh time he had over 800 receiving yards. With Gates out, LaDarius Green will likely fill in as the starter. Green caught 19 passes for 226 yards last season.
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