Former Chief Was Major Bust for New Team in 2024

The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping to win their third consecutive Super Bowl, starting with the Divisional Round matchup with the Houston Texans on Saturday. While a lot of the main characters are still with the organization like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones, a lot of other players from the first win in this streak have moved onto other teams.

One of those guys, LB Willie Gay Jr., was unfortunately a bust in his first year with his new squad, the New Orleans Saints.

Gay was an excellent, rangy linebacker in Kansas City who helped corral dual-threat quarterbacks. In theory, he'd be a great fit as a leader of a defense. Unfortunately, things didn't work out in New Orleans and now the Saints may have buyer's remorse.

Former Chiefs LB Willie Gay Jr. Has Terrible First Season With Saints

Originally a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Gay impressed the Chiefs with his elite athleticism and spent four successful seasons with the franchise. He'll once again be a free agent after signing only a one-year deal with New Orleans, though his value has depreciated since leaving Kansas City.

Despite playing in 15 games, Gay had a career-low in tackles (28) and graded 173rd out of 189 qualified linebackers at Pro Football Focus. After allowing just a 76.9 passer rating when targeted in coverage during his final year with the Chiefs, Gay surrendered a 107.9 mark with the Saints.

He earned only 27% of the defensive snaps, the lowest by far since his rookie campaign. Overall, it was hard to have a more disappointing campaign when you're trying to earn a lengthy contract from someone around the league.

Meanwhile in Kansas City, Leo Chenal is an emerging star serving as the direct replacement. We'll see what happens with Nick Bolton's pending free agency, though Chenal and Drue Tranquill are a strong foundation either way.

Gay was a great player for the Kingdom and hopefully he can turn things around in 2025.

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