Mike Scifres is tied with Antonio Gates as the longest-tenured active Charger.

He plans on absorbing Sunday, whatever it may be.

The 13-year punter along with Gates, quarterback Philip Rivers, wide receiver Malcom Floyd and safety Eric Weddle are the only current Chargers who’ve been with the franchise more than five years. All have spent their entire NFL careers in San Diego. It is possible Sunday’s home finale against the Dolphins could be their last in town.

On Thursday, Scifres acknowledged that possibility. He also addressed another.


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Floyd, 34, plans to retire after the season. Gates, 35, has intimated he’ll likely return. A natural question to Scifres, 35, is what his intentions are, whether Sunday will be his last home game as a Charger regardless of location.

“I haven’t put much thought in that, and I don’t foresee it being that way,” Scifres said of retiring. “But I’m just going to soak it in just in case it is because in this business, none of us know. That’s the way the NFL works; it’s a business. I don’t really put too much thought into that, the ifs and the possibilities of that. ...

“I’m going to stay in the moment during the game, being that it could be the last game in Qualcomm that all of us in this locker room are together. All 63 of us players, if you count practice squad, and all these coaches, as one San Diego Chargers team, it’s going to be the last time this group is going to play a game at Qualcomm Stadium this year and possibly beyond.”


A report surfaced later Thursday, suggesting Scifres was leaning toward retirement. For the record, his agent Harold Lewis refuted it, saying that “Mike doesn’t plan on retiring for many more years. ... I hope when he does retire, it’ll be as a Charger.”

To what city the Chargers are attached is the question.

As someone who’s been with them in San Diego since 2003, the potential significance of the game is not lost on him.

“It’s Thursday, and it probably won’t truly, truly sink in until there’s four zeros across that board, and it’s over,” Scifres said. “Thirteen years and, counting preseason, 10 games a year, to think in the stadium that could possibly be it, you don’t want to think about it because we don’t know what’s going to happen with it for sure yet. But with it being a possibility, it’s going to be emotional when it’s all said and done.”


Nuts ‘n’ Bolts

• Jeff Linkenbach switched sidelines. The Dolphins waived the guard-tackle on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Chargers claimed him. Linkenbach spent the first four seasons of his career in Indianpolis, including the 2011 campaign in which he made 16 starts. He played for the Chiefs last season. Quarterback Brad Sorensen was waived in a corresponding move. He’s expected to be signed to the practice Friday.

• The same four Chargers who didn’t practice Wednesday missed practice again Thursday. Left tackle King Dunlap (ankle), left guard Orlando Franklin (illness), tight end Ladarius Green (ankle) and wide receiver Stevie Johnson (groin) were held out.