Chargers' Antonio Gates wants less playing time in 2015

San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates is well aware that his NFL career is winding down, though you wouldn't know it looking at his numbers from last season.

Gates, who will turn 35 in June, finished second on the team with 821 receiving yards and scored 12 touchdowns, the second-highest total of his career. He also saw quite a bit of playing time: his 787 snaps were the 17th-most at his position, according to Pro Football Focus. 

But Gates told MMQB's Emily Kaplan that he was on the field too much last season and would like to see his playing time scaled back in 2015.

"With injuries and whatnot, I played a little bit more than they expected me to play last season," Gates said. "I was playing the whole game. How I feel next year, it depends on how much volume they have me doing. I'd like to come in on third-and-7s, red zones, those situations. That's what my contribution is at anyway."

Gates said retirement has been on his mind since running back LaDainian Tomlinson, his friend and former teammate, called it a career in 2012. 

"It could be one year for me, it could be four years, I don't know," Gates said. "I just wonder how I'll handle it."

Regardless of when or how Gates walks away from the game, he has already left his mark on the Chargers. He ranks as the franchise's all-time receiving leader with 788 receptions for 10,014 yards and 99 touchdowns in 179 career games.