Chiefs news: Willie Gay Jr. predicts end of his tenure with Kansas City

The Kansas City Chiefs have some important business left to attend to when it comes to the 2023 campaign, but for one important defender, the writing is on the wall about the 2024 season and he's feeling a bit emotional about it. To be honest, we are too.

Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. took to Twitter during Monday's Wild Card matchups to pretty much admit that he's likely going to be playing for another team after the new league year begins.

Here's what Gay posted on Twitter on Monday evening:

Gay's post came during the second half of the game between the second-seeded Buffalo Bills and the seventh-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers at a point where the Bills were building a solid lead in the opening round of the NFL postseason.

Because of the way the NFL playoff bracket works, a Bills' win over the Steelers would force the Chiefs, who beat the Miami Dolphins as the No. 3 seed, to take to the road in the Divisional Round and play in Orchard Park against Buffalo. If the Steelers were able to mount a comeback, the Chiefs would remain at home for one more game against the fourth-seeded Houston Texans.

The Chiefs linebacker pointed toward a likely departure from the team in 2024.

In short, Gay is projecting a Bills' win and a road trip next week. And that prompted some further reflection on the fact that Gay might have already played his final game in red and gold in front of the raucous crowd that comes each week with Kansas City.

The Chiefs do have some significant decisions to make on defense and particularly at the linebacker position. While most of the spotlight goes to free agents-to-be like defensive tackle Chris Jones or cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, the Chiefs will also see Gay and Drue Tranquill hit free agency unless they find a way to bring one or both back to the team.

The Chiefs go into next season with Leo Chenal and Nick Bolton already under contract and slotted for starting roles with younger players like Cam Jones and Jack Cochrane hoping for greater chances. It shouldn't surprise anyone to see overtures made toward both departing free agents to re-sign, but Gay has been playing his whole career to reach that important point for a life-changing payday on the open market, so it makes little sense to avoid that now.

Gay, the Chiefs second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, has played in 57 games in four seasons in Kansas City with 47 total starts. He has 233 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 4 interceptions and 19 pass deflections.

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