Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. lands on injured reserve: the timetable
The Chiefs will be without second-year linebacker Willie Gay Jr. for at least the next three weeks.
The Chiefs placed Gay, who suffered a toe injury in the preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings, on injured reserve, according to Thursday’s NFL transactions report.
With the league carrying over the short-term injured reserve from the 2020 NFL season, Gay will need to spend at least three weeks on the list before the Chiefs can activate him. He will not count against their active 53-player roster.
Following a best-case scenario with a three-week timetable, Gay will miss the following games: Cleveland Browns in Week 1, Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 and Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3.
Gay, who didn’t practice earlier in the week, was easily one of the Chiefs’ top defensive players in training camp. They were counting on Gay to be a key member of their linebacker corps.
The Chiefs could lean on either rookie Nick Bolton, the team’s second-round pick of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Mizzou, or Darius Harris to play alongside Anthony Hitchens, Ben Niemann and Dorian O’Daniel during Gay’s absence.
The Chiefs open the regular season on Sept. 12, hosting the Browns at Arrowhead Stadium.
