Will Hunter Henry return to the Los Angeles Chargers before the end of the season?
Despite suffering a torn right ACL in organized team activities on May 22, the standout Los Angeles Chargers tight end was spotted by reporters running with a knee brace on in light drills Friday at the team's practice facility.
"He looked real good," Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said, per Jack Wang of the Daily News. "He did some start-and-stop stuff, a little bit of change of direction. It's just so soon. It was amazing how he looked today. ... He's been doing some stuff on the side all along, but today, he kind of took it to another level."
Henry's rehab seems to be going very well, but he remains a long shot to return this season. While general manager Tom Telesco opted to put Henry on the physically unable to perform list rather than shutting him down, there are a plethora of variables that remain undecided. Telesco is acutely aware of the challenges ahead.
"The odds are much more that he'll play next year and not this year, we know that," Telesco told the Chargers' official website on Sept. 3. "But we'll be very, very smart with it. Everything would have to perfectly line up. We would never jeopardize Hunter's long-term prospect with doing something now."
Henry, 23, almost certainly won't help the Chargers' cause in 2018, but it appears he'll be at full health in time for the team's offseason program next spring.