Chargers add TE Hunter Henry to active roster

The Chargers are pulling out all the stops for this Sunday's playoff meeting with the Patriots. That included activating tight end Hunter Henry, out for the entire season to date with a torn ACL, to the team's 53-man roster on Monday.

Injured on the first day of offseason workouts last May, Henry's move to the active roster comes after three weeks of practice in an attempted comeback for the Chargers' playoff run. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn had until Monday to either activate Henry or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

The move seems huge, to say the least. The 6-foot-5 Henry totaled a career-high 45 receptions, 579 yards, and 41.4 yards per game in 14 games for the Chargers in 2017, and comes to Foxboro with 12 touchdowns in 29 career games.

But the Chargers are not exactly banking on Henry being a legitimate game-altering presence on Sunday.

"You can't put a player out there for an extended period of time that hasn't played since last December," Lynn admitted. "It would be in certain situations, probably, and he would be on a pitch count."

Still, the Patriots are aware of what Henry can do if given the opportunity on Sunday.

"He’s a very talented player. He’s got great receiving skills. He’s a threat in the passing game to go along with their other threats in the passing game at receiver, tight end and running back," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "It gives them another weapon with a great quarterback who can use all of his weapons at all of the positions.

"It’s another brick on the pile that we’ll have to deal with."

The Patriots, meanwhile, placed one of their tight ends on injured reserve and promoted one from the practice squad on Tuesday.