What Intangibles New Linebacker Gay Could Bring to Miami

The latest free agent additions to the Miami Dolphins were made available to the media this week for the first time and linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was somewhere out in the middle of nowhere.

It may well have felt that way last season for Gay, 27, who spent his first – and worst – NFL season with the 5-12 New Orleans Saints after spending his first four years in Kansas City, where he played in the Super Bowl three of those four campaigns.

And while Gay — who did his live media session from a 90-acre farm he purchased and is working on in his native Mississippi – may have struggled to find his footing in 2024, he still brings the most Super Bowl rings (2) and appearances (3) of any player on the current Dolphins roster.

When asked about his experience with one of the NFL’s current elite teams and what it could bring to the Miami locker room, Gay — who has started nine playoff games — didn’t hesitate on what his goal was in that regard.

“To spread some knowledge about it, because there’s guys who’ve been in the league 10-plus years and have only played in two or three playoff games,” Gay said. “I’ve had guys ask me how it is and how is the feeling of it and what to expect, how to go about it. Playoffs are different. Everybody is out to get you, especially if you’re already the top dog. I think it’s definitely helping me, and it’s going to help me in the long run too — the knowledge and experience that I have from the playoffs already.”

One of those playoff games is one etched in the minds of Dolphins fans for all the wrong reasons, a 26-7 defeat at the hands of the Chiefs in what was ultimately the fourth-coldest playoff game in NFL history (minus-2 degrees Fahrenheit, minus-24 wind chill).

Miami had disappointingly lost at home against the Buffalo Bills in the season finale a week before, ensuring its fate as runner-up in the AFC East and turning what could have been a first-round playoff home game against the Bills into the ultimate "frozen tundra" road game at Kansas City

And while the focus before and after the game was largely on Miami’s perceived inability to survive in the cold, Gay points out that everyone was playing in the same weather.

“It was horrible. Never again,” Gay said. “Let’s just say, in every career that anyone has, there’s always that one day that you just wish you could never ever have to live again, and playing in something that cold is something that I never want to experience again. Like 20 degrees is fine, 15 (degrees), cool, it’s cold, not that 30 (degrees) is even normal, but, shoot, man, minus-20 windchill, bro...”

GAY LOOKING TO REBOUND AFTER TOUGH YEAR

As stark as the differences are between Kansas City and Miami weather in January, so unfortunately was the difference between Gay’s play with the Chiefs and the Saints. A versatile defender whose strength has typically been in coverage, Gay did produce the second-most sacks in his career (2.0) in 2024, but his tackle total (28) and snap count (277) were easily the lowest marks of his career.

He did not in any way try to shed blame but when asked about the differences between playing in Kansas City and New Orleans, he pointed out what he saw as some important differences between the two organizations.

“Not to bash New Orleans or any other team, but it’s just a certain way, certain teams, certain coaches run their organizations,” Gay said. “Half the time, it’s not even the talent that you have. I mean it is, but it starts at the foundation which is the people in charge — the coaches, the owners, the GMs and things like that. If I have to give credit to the Chiefs, I’d say Coach (Andy) Reid, he put things the way he wanted them to be ran. He put them in detail and said, ‘This is the way it’s going to happen,’ and if it didn’t happen that way, he was either going to get rid of you or you weren’t going to play, or you won’t be a part of the team."

Gay went on to share that the Chiefs from his perspective just had a different attitude as a team.

“It’s things like everyone looking the same, everyone wearing the same gear,” Gay said. “Nobody is bigger than the team, there’s no superstars. Obviously, we had Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and the other guys, but even those guys, they never missed days of practice. If we wore black socks, they wore black socks. Nobody is trying to stand out among the crowd. Things like that I noticed was different … and when it comes down to it, you realize that the details like that matters come the end of the year.”

As far as what he brings to the Dolphins, Gay has traits that defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver likes to see in a defender, chief among them versatility.

“I haven’t talked to Coach Weaver yet," Gay said. "But the way the Saints used me and the way I’ve been used my whole career for the past five years, I’ve been used as an inside backer, outside backer, rushing the edge, blitzing up the middle, pass dropping, man coverage on tight ends and running backs, so there’s really not much that I can’t do when I’m on the field. Whatever Coach Weaver has for me, I’m ready to do it. I don’t put many limitations on my game. Obviously, I can get better at a lot, so just looking forward to seeing how I’ll be getting utilized.”

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