Willie Gay injury update: Chiefs linebacker is ‘progressing well’ from toe injury – Arrowhead Addict
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 22: Tight end Darren Waller #83 of the Las Vegas Raiders runs with the ball after a pass reception while linebacker Willie Gay Jr. #50 and strong safety Tyrann Mathieu #32 of the Kansas City Chiefs defend during the first half of an NFL game at Allegiant Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
It feels weird to say heading into Week 3, but the K.C. Chiefs could use some sort of reinforcements.
In a year where the team’s defense has started out to look like the leaky ship captained in Bob Sutton’s latter seasons, the Chiefs could use a boost of help in a couple ways: either against the run or helping to get after the passer. Here’s hoping that linebacker Willie Gay could at least help with some of that as well as give others a boost while trying to do the same.
Gay has been out since the final game of the preseason against the Minnesota Vikings when he suffered a toe injury that kept him out of a few practices before the team finally admitted it was a worse problem than expected. They placed Gay on injured reserve which automatically meant he would miss three games, but the potential was there for more.
Willie Gay is looking potentially ready to go by Week 4 for the Chiefs.
Matt Verderame of FanSided, however, has word from a source that Gay is “progressing well” from the injury and that it’s possible he’s back after this weekend’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chiefs have been soft in the middle with Nick Bolton still learning on the fly and Ben Niemann being tasked with assignments beyond his pay grade. Anthony Hitchens is present, but no single player has greater physical gifts than Gay. In addition, Chiefs Kingdom has reason to believe Gay is ready to make a leap in his on-field production after having a full season in Steve Spagnuolo’s system.
If Bolton can continue to grow and Gay can arrive healthy, then the Chiefs could be looking at solid talent in the middle while the rest of the front line and secondary also figure things out. For now, the Chiefs are just hoping some internal tweaks and pep talks can stimulate a defense that’s looked flat for the first two weeks.
Gay had 39 total tackles, 3 passes deflected, and 1 sack in limited playing time over 16 games during his first season in Kansas City.