Getty Willie Gay celebrates a play in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Buffalo Bills will have to wait a bit longer to find out whether they’ll be facing Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay on Sunday.
Gay was arrested by police in Overland Park, Kansas, on Wednesday on a charge of misdemeanor criminal property damage, ESPN reported. Police have accused the Chiefs linebacker of damaging a vacuum cleaner, cell phone screen protector, and humidifier while also damaging a wall and door frame during a domestic incident. Gay’s agents released a statement saying that he was visiting his son when he got into an argument with the boy’s mother.
Gay pleaded not guilty and was released on Thursday, leaving his status for Sunday’s playoff game up in the air.
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Chiefs Tight-Lipped on Gay’s Status
Gay was not at practice on Thursday, and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo deferred to his head coach on questions of whether he might suit up against the Bills on Sunday.
“I’m going to leave that up to Andy [Reid]. I’m sure he’ll address it,” Steve Spagnuolo said, via ESPN. “But if this happened in a game and it was an injury, we’d just operate that way. But we’ll see what happens.”
Reid was not scheduled to speak to reporters until Friday, but Spagnuolo expressed his support for Gay.
“All I can say about Willie is I love working with him,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s been terrific. I think you know he’s had a baby; I talk to him about that a lot. I just hope it works out best for everybody.”
Kansas City Chiefs LB Willie Gay Jr. arrested for misdemeanor property damage in Overland Park
As Vahe Gregorian of The Kansas City Star noted, there are still many outstanding questions about the incident and said the team may ultimately decide to prioritize Gay’s mental health and keep him off the field.
“As for the purely football aspect, perhaps the Chiefs will determine that Gay will not play on Sunday,” he wrote. “And if they do, they’ll have to adapt. Again, from a purely football standpoint, that would be too bad for the Chiefs. But dealing with such flux is also something every team goes through every week in some form or another.”
Bills Preparing for Improved Chiefs Defense
Gay had two tackles in a loss to the Bills on October 10, a night when the Chiefs defense struggled to contain Buffalo’s weapons on offense. The Bills won 38-20, but that was before the Chiefs went through a dramatic turnaround that saw them win 10 of their final 12 games.
The Chiefs were also missing one of their best pass-rushers in the first meeting. Chris Jones, who led the team with nine sacks this season, will be back for the rematch and Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said the team is preparing for him.
“He’s really good. He’s really good. He stands out. We’re up there preparing right now and he’s just a dynamic player,” Daboll said, via Fox 4 Kansas City. “He’s big, he’s long, he’s powerful. He’s got explosiveness, he’s got quickness for a bigger guy. He’s a problem.”
The @BuffaloBills literally played the perfect offensive game. 😳
h/t @BrettKollmann | #SuperWildCard
But the Chiefs will also have to contend with a Bills offense that was close to perfect against the New England Patriots, scoring touchdowns on all seven drives before a final kneel-down to end the game.
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