We need him to cover Christian McCaffery in the the flat. I hope he's healthy.

and the poor Ravens tried to mock this after their 1 and only Tuddy.

With the Saints in dissaray and just firing their coach. Would it be a good idea to do what we did with Mecole and bring Willie back for a six or seventh round pick? It just crossed my mind. If the money could work out I'd do it tbh cause he knows the system obviously and was a huge presence in the locker room.

I wouldn’t be against it as he would be a good addition to spy Lamar/Allen come playoff time.

In.

Though I'm not sure how many reps there are for him with Chenal playing like he is.

But he could be really useful in the right matchup. Mostly the Ravens with Jackson/Likely as potential headaches.

He would provide great depth in the off chance we suffer an injury to our LBs.

Getting Willie's speed and all round athleticism back on the defense would only enhance the unit imo. He's on a one year deal there so why wouldn't the Saints deal him? I think it would be a very logical move to make.

That's my thoughts too. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

In

Saints just need to sell everything they can with the cap tsunami they are about to deal with in the off season. Just be bad for a few years and commit to the rebuild to get the salaries off the books.

Love this idea. He's on a one year deal, would be a very manageable cap hit this year. We need Simply Red to send Veach a Facebook message.

Right now playing for New Orleans is Gay.

Sounds like a good deal to get a late round pick out of a guy on a 1 year deal when your season is over anyway

Willie Gay has sucked this year. I told y'all he wasn't good. And you were all worried about Leo Chenals athleticism. Chenal has been better than Willie ever was.

Utter nonsense :LOL:

Rather have a CB if we are going to give away draft capital… This is not a need..

It's kinda difficult sitting on B2B Super Bowls with an undefeated record and calling anything a need.

It's all about moving chess pieces around for the playoffs, no? And ultimately Gay is a really handy chess piece for 2 teams we're very likely to have to deal with at some point in the post-season.

Yeah, there's a limited lane in which we might really be able to put him to good use, but for marginal cost, who cares?

If you're churning the bottom 3-5 spots on the roster, 'need' doesn't really enter the equation. It's all about matchups and backups. And in that regard, Gay could end up quite useful.

It's not a need move which is what makes it great, actually. It's just a perfect fit. Willie Gay could be installed in our defense and day 1 he knows all the assignments and is up and contributing right away. If he costs a 6th rounder or something and doesn't hurt us much on cap you pull the trigger.

Can he play Left Tackle?

Gay isn't bringing anything back. Maybe swap 7th picks to move back a few spots and that's all he will bring. In baseball terms basically "Future Considerations".

Count me in on a Gay reunion.

Saints fan sites are all calling the signing a failure and are all baffled as to why he didn’t break through as a starter. This makes him a prime candidate for a prove it “Mecole” style reunion, if Spags sees a need for him.

I know my vote doesn’t count, but I certainly saw a need for him against Lamar, Allen, and most damagingly, Jalen Hurts. Gay had a game-swinging blitz against a previously unstoppable Jalen in Super Bowl 57 - and with so many duel threat QB’s in the AFC, it’d sure be nice to have Willie back next year.

We def could have used him in the SB against Jalen running.

I think our LBs were fine in the SB. Probably the lone bright spot.

I'd welcome him back if the price is right. He swallows up the flat.

Our linebackers did great against Saquon, but Bolton and Tranquil just couldn’t close the gap against Hurts. Jalen extended several drives with his legs and it was the main element that kept Philly’s offense more effective in the first three quarters than San Fran’s in SB58. As elusive as Jalen is, he couldn’t avoid Gay in SB57 and it was critical as it forced their first punt and swung the game back to us.

He’s Willie Gay

we need him back for his ability to hype up the team and the fans with some swag surfin

I came here to post this

I think there are certain personalities that a team needs and Willie G's hype man persona is valuable to get the team juiced.

I think CEH was the same type of guy which is one of the reasons they kept him around so long. Positive energy like a MF

It felt like we were a bit flat down the stretch last season and I think we might have let too many of these "hype men" type of players walk out the door unfortunately.

I would be fine with a low price reunion.

Paying dudes to be cheerleaders? No thanks.

I have Gay thoughts sometimes

:doh!: it wasn't like these guys weren't able to contribute...

When you're one injury away from starting Jack Cochrane or Cole Christiansen at LB...Willie Gay sounds like a much better option. Might keep Tranquill a bit more fresh for the stretch run...he seemed a step slow from mid-season on.

First Hooters now this?

For the life of me I will never understand the Gay love CPers have around here. Just draft some strong fast LB and hope he can actually learn to take proper angles to the ball carrier. That Gay fellow never could learn that.

I'd welcome him back, however, if the Chiefs wanted him back, wouldn't they have signed him last year for the same contract the Saints did? Or presumably already signed him by now this year?

I'm assuming there's concerns with his health or character.

Bring him back, Veach. You know ya boy wants to come home.

Maybe after the comp pick formula cutoff?

We could use a little Gay action.

Gay hater. Quit hating the Gays.

Haven't the Chiefs been doing this for years?

This idea that Willie Gay was this transcendent player was never based in reality.

I very much appreciate Willie's contributions to our championship dynasty, but there's something that must be said.

Back when Travis and Tyreek would lead those group groovy dances back in 2018 and 2019, Willie was far and away the worst dancer. He put in a good effort, but the dude had no groove in him at all.

I don't know that anyone has said anything about that.

What do you have against the Gay?

Methinks thou doth protest too much.

That's surprising, Gays are usually exceptional dancers.

Likely due to having loose buttocks regions.

Is that what you’re into?

Gay is fast and hits like a truck but he has horrible on field instincts.


Best you can hope is Gay is running full speed and the offensive player runs into him and dies.

You're the first person to ever even mention that Willie Gay was a transcendent player. Most people identified him as a super athletic guy who could make a really nifty play or two here or there. Our LBs lost their fastest guy when he left. And the team lost its best protection against vacuum cleaners.

Lots of Gay lovers on CP.

That seems to be the opinion of most on here. And the NFL too or he would have been signed before taking the Chiefs lifeline.

Chiefs lifeline? Did we re-sign him? I don’t see anything that says so.

Pepperidge Farm cookies and recovered split milk makes the taste of Viagra go away

Perfect role for him is as a QB spy.

Which is exactly why he needs to be here.

Is it appropriate that I still hate that ****ing pick over Logan Wilson? I can't let this one go.

Wilson's been a better player than Gay, for sure.

Interestingly, I think the concern for most about Wilson was his ceiling - it just didn't seem terribly high. And ultimately hasn't it played out that way?

He improved through his first 3 years to become a really really good player in his 3rd year. But fell back quite a bit in 2023 and seemed to really struggle in coverage last year as well before he got hurt.

Gay was a ceiling over floor pick that didn't work out, but when you see how quickly Wilson plateaued in Cincy, you can at least see the rationale.

Maybe a new DC will get him back on the trend he was showing before he signed his deal.

Gay needs Bobby Boucher tacklin’ fuel

Pretend the ball carrier is a Dyson. He could become the next Lawrence Taylor

Leo Chenal does that just fine.

Oddly enough, I’ve always felt that way about Chris Jones.

Idk if he’s truly not a good dancer or it’s just strange seeing a man as large as him dancing.

Hey, you try dancing with a giant cock plopping out of your pants. Believe me, it's not easy.

Yes please, he can cover those pesky Tight ends being Gay and all.

What are doing trying to dance with some other dudes massive penis in your pants? Pretty gay that.

Shut up, you know you want it.

Right.

At $8 million I don't think anyone's eager to grab him.

But at less than we tendered Jack ****ing Cochran for? Why the hell isn't he already here?

He's an NFL player and a top 5% athlete for his position. He's nothing resembling a perfect player, but he has a role.

Willie Gay on the cheap is a totally great pickup.

Wilson's plateau is among the best coverage LBs in the NFL and a 120-to-130-tackle player, not a scrub backup that can't see the field after 5 years. Injuries derailed him last year but you're grossly understating how monumental that gap is between the two, and always has been the case.

Gay was a shit pick then, and I took my downvote lumps to make the point, and he remains a shit pick now.

He's a knucklehead. But he's a FAST knucklehead that hits like a freight train, and on the cheap would be a great pickup. Where he was drafted and who else was available at the time is not relevant.

The mental aspect is the main reason he didn't get re-signed. What makes you think that Spags would want him back? I mean, I get it if it's a special team signing primarily but that means he'd need to sign a VSB deal and I don't know that he will see himself as that.

I think he's signing with Miami anyhow so it will be moot.

He wasn't great in coverage in 2023 though.

Was it a plateau or just a career year?

I think that remains an open question.

He was great in 2023. I went back and looked at stats just to make sure I wasn't thinking unclearly and he gave up 75% completion, had 9 PDs and 4 Ints to go with 135 tackles. That's about as good as it gets for a cover LB. He fell off this year in 2024, largely due to being dinged up.

Hell, Wilson's 2022 and 2023 encompasses all of what Gay has accomplished in 5 years and then some.

Even if you want to argue that that is his plateau, it exceeds Gay's production by two-fold. It's really not an argument.

Wouldn't a 75% completion rate with that many tackles (and PDs/INTs) indicate he was being targeted?

I'm seeing 62 receptions on 77 targets (80%) for 11.2 yards/rec and 4 TDs given up for a passer rating against over 100 in 2023.

Pretty similar numbers in 2022 w/ 66 receptions on 82 targets for 9.5 yards/reception and a 101.7 passer rating against (largely because he had fewer interceptions).

Meanwhile Bolton gave up 52 receptions on 67 targets this year (8.9/reception at 77% completion), 2 TDs and an INT for a passer rating against at 99.2. Really similar figures and we MURDER him for being bad in coverage.

For his career Wilson has given up an 80.9% catch rate (237 receptions on 293 targets) at 10 yards/reception (2,364 on 237 catches) and a total passer rating against at 95.7.

That's...okay. Bolton gets excoriated for years like that, though.

And I suspect different sources all have slightly different data given that it's really hard to know what a LB is ultimately responsible for an if it was 'his' catch surrendered. But when you see a Will 'backer with that many tackles, I don't typically think of that as a great sign and some of the numbers under the hood would support that.

He’s a Dolphin now.

He can walk off the face of the universe, and most importantly, I never wanted him back at all.

Warner, by contrast, in his best years has a rec% in the high 60s to mid 70s. Passer ratings in the low to mid 80s.

To my eyes his best year in coverage was 2020 -- 44 receptions on 61 targets, 7.5 yards/reception and a passer rating against of 81.9. Warner's who I think of when I think of a premium coverage 'backer and seasons like that are why. Wilson...man, I just can't get there. He's fine but not at that level.

He ****ing sucks!

Doesn't Miami use mostly odd fronts? Interesting -- I wonder if that'll help him.

I never liked that vacuum throwing POS!!!

We both know that comparing Wilson in coverage to Bolton in coverage is foolish DJ. Completely different responsibilities, especially man assignments on TEs and slots, at different positions.

That's why I didn't lead off with stats - I simply spoke to some of what you offered. I don't know that they're all that useful, regardless of the source. As you noted, everything's different team to team.

I just don't see Wilson as being an elite coverage backer. I think that Cincy defense has been fair to middlin' most of his career and at its apex it had Bell and Bates on the back end (which helps your backers a fair bit) not to mention Germaine Pratt who has been a reasonably effective complement in coverage to Wilson in some of those seasons (and a complete mess last year).

And I think it may turn out that the Bengals bought high on both players who were more complementary than they'd like.

It's a real big year for both guys and both entering their age 29 seasons aren't exactly on the upswing anymore.

He would absolutely nuke some of those passes to the RBs in the flats that kicked our ass so bad this year too.

Sometimes you need a little crazy on your defense.

It'll make you pull your hair out at times, but that sort of reckless abandon has a purpose of its own.

I've talked about that with stolen bases in baseball before. A guy that's merely a threat to run is sometimes worth the out he creates on occasion by trying to take an extra bag or getting thrown out. Oh sure, there's a breaking point (typically around 70% success, IMO) but I think a guy that goes out there and steals 60 bases on 80 attempts is more impactful than someone who steals 25 on 30 attempts.

The latter has a better success rate but the former is in the back of your mind whenever you're making a pitch.

Now, you can't have EVERYONE out there giving outs away. But having one that makes the opposition think is worth having.

You can't have a team full of Willie Gay kinda players. But having one out there that might just knock you into next week if you don't have your head around AS you're catching the ball? That's worth something.

He's a great 4th LB with some specific abilities. If he's inexpensive, you absolutely do that. You need depth, and he's experienced depth with years in the system.

Now, if Spags doesn't want him back, whatever. But he's not less useful because you didn't like the pick in the first place. As a cheap depth signing, he's a great option.

It's pretty obvious the Chiefs had no interest in bringing him back.