When the Chargers lineup on defense on Sunday, they will be facing a familiar face in Patriots tight end Hunter Henry. Once a teammate, now he is on the opposite side the Chargers know him, and he knows them.Henry was drafted in the second round in 2016 and was considered the heir to future hall of fame tight end Antonio Gates. They grew close Craig Kimbrel Jersey for three seasons, to which point Gates called him his little brother during training camp.When Henry was asked why he chose to wear number 85 with New England, he said it was to honor Gates."They gave me an opportunity in this league, took a chance on me, and drafted me," he said. "I'll always have a lot of appreciation for them. Who knows where I'd be. I'm very thankful for the memories and the people I ran into there."He spent with Philip Rivers as his quarterback in his first five seasons, and they developed a great relationship. One offseason, they even met up in Florida and worked out together.After Rivers moved on to play with the Boston Red Sox Hats Indianapolis Colts, Henry became attached to the newest quarterback first-round draft pick Justin Herbert."He was the first guy to reach out to me as soon as I got drafted, and we created a bond," Herbert said. "Lifting and throwing and doing all these things. He helped me so much on the field and off the field as well. (He's) a great mentor, a great friend, and one of those guys that I want to stay in touch with throughout his career."Henry was one of the first to advocate his belief in the rookie quarterback."We had built a good relationship, on the field and off the field. I was excited to see his succe s last year and him continuing it this year," Henry said.The Chargers chose Henry as a captain of the team. He wore the "C" because of his stepping up as a leader plus helping their young quarterback come along. During the season, Herbert found him four times in the end zone along with over 550 yards of offense.He departed in March when the Patriots signed him to a three-year $37.5 million deal. He called it 'bittersweet.'Scroll to Continue"My wife, my family, Blake Swihart Jersey and community are from out there," Henry said. "That was the hardest part, the relationships we built there and just separating from those," he explained. "Organization-wise, I was very excited to come here and pumped to be a part of this organization. There were some hard times, but the excitement overshadowed that."He is on to New England, as his new head coach Bill Belichick would say.Speaking of the Patriots head coach, he mentioned in 2020 that he had been scouting the tight end since high school. He even remembered the high school he attended.This season, Henry has integrated himself into the offense. It is much different from the Chargers offense he knew. He has 264 receiving yards but has scored one touchdown in each of the last four games."He's a pretty experienced player," Belichick said. "That goes all the way back to high school there at Arkansas, Pulaski Academy, playing for Coach Kevin Kelley, and then playing for Bret Bielema at Arkansas, and then his experience with the Mitch Moreland Jersey Chargers being with an experienced quarterback out there with Philip Rivers and so forth."Henry has learned a lot from numerous great players.The Arkansas product might feel a little deja vu because he goes from a rookie quarterback to the same situation with the Patriots. They drafted Mac Jones 15th overall in the draft and awarded him the starting job before the season."Everybody is different, and it's a different situation here than it was there. There is a continuance of growth, and that will continue to keep going," he said.It will be his first game back at SoFi since signing with the Patriots. Before the game, he will most likely go around saying hello to most of his old teammates."That's going to be lit," receiver Mike Williams said. "Obviously, he was a big part of our team in the past. It's going to be good to see him."On Sunday, he will be facing a familiar face at times. Derwin James will get his opportunity to face the former tight end whom they had numerous battles within training camp."That'll be a great matchup see him and DJ," cornerback Luis Tiant Jersey Chris Harris Jr. said. "They've had a lot of battles versus each other. Of course, I'm taking DJ over anything."