It can be difficult to replace a starter when they go down with an injury, but tight end Virgil Green appears to be doing his best to dispel that notion.

Following quarterback Philip Rivers comments to the Chargers official team site, it appears that the team’s free agent signing of Green is paying off.

“(Our connection) is growing, we’re working through how I like things, what I’m expecting on certain routes. He’s getting a feel for this offense. He was in it similarly with (Mike) McCoy (in Denver). Virgil is going to be just fine. He has played a lot of football and is a good football player,” said Rivers.

The Chargers were left with limited options at tight end after Hunter Henry tore his ACL on the first day of organized team activities in April and the front office decided not to re-sign Antonio Gates for his 16th season.

Instead of bringing Gates back, Los Angeles opted to sign a younger player to back up Henry for the upcoming season. Green was drafted by division rival Denver in the 7th round of the 2011 NFL draft. In his eight years of NFL experience, he has notched 807 yards and four touchdowns playing in a reserve role. He finally has a chance to prove he’s more than a roster space.

Green backed up Rivers comments about them being on the same page to the Chargers teams site; “It’s always good to have a quarterback that knows exactly what he wants. Right now, I’m seeing and understanding exactly what it is Phil wants,” Green said. “I think it’s going great.”

The Bolts offense ranked 1st in the NFL last season for total passing with 4,431 yards. Of that total, 943 yards went to tight ends. Los Angeles was probably hoping to utilize their tight ends more in the passing game this season as Henry was going into his 3rd year as a pro. But for now, Green is entrenched as the first-string tight end on the unofficial depth chart and ready to prove he’s more than just a blocker and backup.

Chargers fans, get ready to see a lot of ‘Rivers to Green’ connections in 2018.