Willie Gay Jr. has found a new home for the 2024 season after spending last season with the New Orleans Saints. The veteran linebacker has officially signed with the Miami Dolphins, per NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler.
This will be the second straight one-year deal for Willie Gay.
The signing marks another step in Gay’s career after his four-year stint in Kansas City, where he was a key contributor to the Chiefs’ linebacker corps from 2020 to 2023. After finishing his four-year rookie deal in K.C., the Saints signed him away in free agency in '24 on a one-year, $3 million deal.
The whole Chiefs homecoming thing isn't happening for Willie Gay after all.
Gay, a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State, quickly established himself as an athletic starter for the Chiefs and a first step toward a wholesale rebuilding of the position in successive drafts. The Chiefs would go on to bring in Nick Bolton and then Leo Chenal in subsequent rookie classes (along with free agent Drue Tranquill) to give themselves all new starters in the second level during their back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.
Gay seemed to fall out of favor not long after arriving in New Orleans, however. He was used sparingly for the Saints' defense and played only 27 percent of snaps despite starting 8 games and appearing in 15. The results were career-low marks in total tackles (28) and the failure to record a single interception for the first time since his rookie campaign.
During his time with the Chiefs, Gay played in 57 regular-season games and recorded 233 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 19 passes defended.