KC Chiefs vs. Buccaneers: Willie Gay will miss Super Bowl LV

The Kansas City Chiefs got an injury update on rookie linebacker Willie Gay Jr. on Thursday with word that their second-round pick was forced to undergo knee surgery for a torn meniscus. The news means that the Chiefs will be without Gay in the heart of the defense in Super Bowl LV on February 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Gay suffered the injury in practice on Thursday as the Chiefs prepared to defend their championship. The torn meniscus comes on the end of another injury, a high ankle sprain suffered at the end of the regular season, from which Gay was trying to return. Gay had already missed the entirety of the postseason so far but was hopeful the Super Bowl was in sight with his return to practice.

Without Gay in the middle, the Chiefs will lean on the same performers we’ve seen to date in games against the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills so far in the postseason. That means Anthony Hitchens will see a majority of snaps in the middle with Ben Niemann and Damien Wilson rotating in on packages where needed. (But remember the Chiefs will likely play a majority of DB-heavy sub-packages against Tom Brady and the Bucs offense anyway.)

The Chiefs lost linebacker Willie Gay, Jr. to a torn meniscus on Thursday.

Gay’s rookie season has been an intriguing one as he’s played in all 16 games but only on 25 percent of all defensive snaps. The team held him to very limited snaps for much of the season, with only three games played with 50 percent or more snaps. In that amount of playing time, Gay had 39 total tackles, 3 passes deflected, 1 forced fumble, and 1 sack for the Chiefs.

Given the injury status, Gay’s focus now turns to the Chiefs offseason and a few months of recovery hoping to be ready for next springs OTAs.