SAN DIEGO -- Six-time Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates likely will sit out the final two regular-season games to rest his injured right foot in case the Chargers make the playoffs.
"I do want to get healthy," Gates said Wednesday. "That's what's best for this team."
Gates missed the previous two games and four of the last six with a painful tear in his right plantar fascia. Gates said the team's other tight ends, Randy McMichael and Kris Wilson, are more than capable of doing the job.
"Based on the history of the injury, there's no speedy recovery," Gates said. "Time is key. Not only do I need time, but I need rest."
In order to win their fifth consecutive AFC West title, the Chargers (8-6) need to win their final two games, at Cincinnati on Sunday and at Denver on Jan. 2, and have the Kansas City Chiefs lose once.
Gates said he'll have had four weeks of rest if the Chargers do make the playoffs.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
