Kansas City Chiefs LB Willie Gay Jr. won’t miss any time following his Wednesday night arrest for misdemeanor criminal damage.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke to reporters for the first time since Gay’s arrest. He confirmed that Gay practiced on Friday and was slated to play in Sunday’s divisional-round matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
“Other than (Rashad) Fenton, everybody else practiced,” Reid said. “Willie (Gay Jr.) was a part of that. I know that’s where we’ll be going here, so you don’t have to. He’s going to play, he was at practice.”
Gay missed Thursday’s practice as he was arraigned, but he was released from police custody on Thursday afternoon. He was back at practice and will be listed as a full participant on Friday.
Asked how he came to the decision to allow Gay to play, Reid didn’t divulge much information. Simply put, whatever he was told about the incident by Gay and others was enough for him to come to the decision that he should be allowed to play.
“Well, I decided that he’ll play,” Reid said. “I’m not going to get into the conversations (that we’ve had). I’m not going to do that. I decided that after just hearing some of the information there.”
Gay has appeared in 13 games for the Chiefs this season, starting in 12 of them, including last week’s postseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The second-year linebacker has 48 total tackles, one tackle for loss, a half-sack, four passes defended and two interceptions on the year. He could be a vital piece in defending a dual-threat like Bills QB Josh Allen in the divisional round.
