With the arrival of two-time Super Bowl champion Willie Gay to the linebacker room, the Saints have made their first acquisition of the week amid the free agency frenzy.
On the board are the Saints. Multiple reports state that they have added Willie Gay, a former Chiefs linebacker, to the mix during the NFL’s legal tampering procedure. What’s very encouraging is that he shared it on social media as well.
The agreement was initially announced by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The terms of the deal have surfaced: it is guaranteed to be worth $3 million and is for a year, with a maximum value of $5 million.
Gay, a native of Mississippi, recently won his second Super Bowl with Kansas City. Gay attended Mississippi State during his college career.
Bob Rose of Saints News Network mentioned Willie Gay as a possible free agent target.
Like Davis, Gay has spent his first four seasons as a solid but frequently underappreciated player. He is a quick and strong athlete who can provide strong results as a blitzer (5 sacks, 16 pressures), against the run (17 tackles for loss, 233 total stops), and in coverage (4 interceptions, 19 passes broken up).
Gay had a crucial role in the Kansas City defense’s success in winning back-to-back Super Bowls.
This is what Pro Football Focus, who ranked them as the 106th best free agent, had to say about him.
Despite beginning his career as a pure downhill attacker, Gay is arguably the best lateral athlete among the Chiefs’ talented linebacker corps. He frequently draws the quarterback spy job and receives some of the more difficult coverage assignments.
The former second-round selection is a good weakside linebacker who has improved in reading and responding, and he also performed well in the seldom blitz packages that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo employed.
As the Chiefs’ weak-side linebacker, Gay was a dynamic athlete who was never fully trusted to play every snap. Being able to neutralize the running threat of the opposition quarterback makes him an excellent role player to have on the team.
The Eagles acquired Zack Baun from New Orleans, and the team now has multiple free agents at the position.
Willie Gay, who joins Khalen Saunders, Tyrann Mathieu, and Tanoh Kpassagnon as the fourth former Chiefs player to join the Saints, is going to bring a lot to the table.