The Kansas City Chiefs’ Speedy Willie Gay Impresses In Return From Suspension

Following his four-game suspension, Willie Gay Jr. was back in the starting lineup for the Kansas City Chiefs’ 44-23 win against the San Francisco 49ers

“It was a great feeling, man,” Gay exclusively shared.

During his time away from the team, Gay remained in Kansas City and credited his local trainers for helping him stay in shape despite the long absence.

“Four weeks was a long time not being able to play football,” he said. “Not only did I feel good, man, I felt like my wind was back.”

Though the Chiefs had Gay in the starting lineup, they still eased him in a bit, knowing they also have the advantage of the upcoming bye week to get him reacclimated.

Gay played just 56% of the defensive plays or 44 snaps vs. the 49ers. To put that in perspective, he played 69 or 92% of snaps in his previous contest — a 27-24 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week Two.

Gay had eight tackles in Week Seven, and his biggest one occurred with 2:44 left in the first half of Sunday’s victory.

The 49ers were in scoring range at the Chiefs’ 34-yard line. The Chiefs sent Willie Gay on a blitz off the edge, and tight end Charlie Woerner went into a pass pattern, leaving Gay unblocked.

Gay combined with L’Jarius Sneed, who also blitzed, on the sack, and the 49ers lost four yards and ultimately had to punt instead of at least getting a field goal.

“It was a great play call,” Gay said.

During his time away, Gay clearly had been watching football and was aware of the current trends on pass rushers, including how Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones was victimized.

“There’s been so many roughing-the-passer calls in the past couple of weeks,” Gay said. “I tried to pull off a little bit because I didn’t know if he had let the ball go or not.”

Despite that hesitation he got to 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo quickly.

Gay brings speed to a Chiefs defense that is younger and faster than it has been in years.

Gay’s 4.46 time in the 40 was second fastest among linebackers at the 2020 Combine. (Only Kansas City native and current Arizona Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons ran faster.)

Having that speedy player back in the lineup gave the Chiefs a jolt of energy.

“He’s going to go 100 miles an hour no matter what,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “He runs around. He makes explosive plays. He’s dynamic. And he loves playing.”

He played dynamically in his last game prior to the suspension.

On a 2nd and 10 with 7:30 left in the first quarter of Week Two, he perfectly read a screen play and tackled running back Austin Ekeler for a three-yard loss.

On the Chargers’ next possession, they tried some trickery with a throw back from DeAndre Carter to Ekeler, but Gay snuffed it out, resulting in a four-yard loss.

Gay’s performance in that contest represented one of the best of his NFL career. He is in third year of his four-year, $5.3 million rookie contract, and his play has been worthy of an extension, though the Chiefs will likely factor in his off-the-field behavior that resulted in the NFL’s four-game suspension.

He was arrested in January after visiting his son. He got into an argument with the child’s mother, who called police after he damaged her home.

Gay agreed to go to mental health counseling in June, following the incident with his son’s mother.

In the week leading up to the Oct. 23 game, Gay returned to practice, and his teammates welcomed him with open arms.

“The guys showed me so much love. It was perfect,” Gay said. “The guys were really thankful that I was back.”