"Tight end Antonio Gates said he "felt good" after practicing Thursday - essentially his first practice since October.

But he did not practice Friday and is resigned to a training camp of starts and stops as he and the team manage his lingering soreness due to plantar fasciitis.

"We're taking it slow," he said. "We're being smart."

It won't necessarily be one day on, one day off. But frequent days off will likely be Gates' regimen throughout camp and perhaps even during the season. He practiced once after October last season and did not play in a game after Dec. 5.

The Chargers expect Gates to be ready for the season opener, and Gates believes his biggest issue will be managing his recovery each week.

"Certainly, there's not reason to push it if he's got soreness," Norv Turner said. "It's early August, and as I've said, our goal is to be playing in February so it's a long haul, and we're going to make sure we manage his situation and have him when we need him.""