Ladarius Green

Antonio Gates missed five of 72 offensive snaps Sunday.

The way his hamstring felt, it could have been more.

The Chargers tight end was back on the field Friday, present at an all-important practice after missing the previous two days. He was a full participant and is listed as probable to face the Bengals on Sunday, but the hamstring ailment is not a small, sweep-under-the-rug matter.

Hamstring injuries never are.

"It's tricky," Gates said Friday. "It's different. It's one of those injuries where you can't fully grasp whether or not you can do something because it's all running. Everything is based off running and power and holding off people on blocks, and the hamstring is a big part of that. Without the lower body, you couldn't play in this league. I'll see how it goes. I'm going to attack this rehab. I've got two more days. That's the best part about it.

Gates said if he had to play Friday, he wasn't sure he would have been able to go. But a couple more days will definitely help Gates leading up to Sunday's game. If he can't go, emerging star Ladarius Green would likely get a major bump up our TE rankings.