This coming offseason, Willie Gay and Dru Tranquill are both free agents.
But in 2025, two offseasons, Nick Bolton will become a free agent. And I'm probably not overselling it when I say that above all other LBs, Bolton's a critical cog that must be re-signed, barring any catastrophic injuries. He's the central cog to that entire defense, alongside Jones and McDuffie.
So this coming offseason, it seems unlikely/improbable that the Chiefs will re-sign both Gay and Tranquill, as it's not smart cap management to have three LBs under huge contracts. By the end of this season, Gay and Tranquill both will command pretty good-sized contracts.
Which then begs the question, and I despise asking it: which LB do you extend? Gay or Tranquill?
I value them both equally, but of course they both do different things and they both do them very well.
Tranquill possesses sky high character and top notch intelligence, and can play every single LB position on the field. He can man the green dot, and if your All Pro mike goes down for the remainder of the regular season, you can slide in Tranquill to rack up tackles, call the defense, blitz well and play great in coverage. He's one of those players Super Bowl defenses have to have.
But you know what else your defense needs? A 250 lbs wrecking ball with elite speed. Willie Gay is more powerful, an even better blitzer, almost as good in coverage. He doesn't possess Tranquill's character, but he is a huge energy-bringer. This is by far the best year he's played, and he has always clicked well with Bolton.
One of the things that makes the Chiefs truly unique this year is their extremely outward support of each other. I saw this on the preseason, Matt Bushman catches a TD pass from Olakadun and the entire team rushes over to celebrate him, and Gay is one of the leaders in that aspect.
So I truly, truly, truly don't know which LB I'd keep if we had to choose. They're both very good players and both will be very hard to replace.
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
In a vacuum - Tranquill.
If we're going to extend Bolton - Gay.
Gay and Bolton are just such amazing complements to each other. Everywhere one struggles, the other excels. Everything one brings from a personality standpoint, the other heightens through his own personality.
How do you view Gay's production?
I feel like the complimentary piece of the Bolton-Gay relationship is tremendously valuable. Especially in terms of limiting weaknesses.
But I feel like his production should be better. I'm hesitant that he might disappear too much. I'm open to the idea that he's doing a nice job of filling the gap, and the play becomes someone else's to make.
But man, Gay can really wreck a drive for the offense. I'd really hate for Gay to walk because his measurables aren't walking back through the door. But I may just be a moron. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
How do you view Gay's production?
I feel like the complimentary piece of the Bolton-Gay relationship is tremendously valuable. Especially in terms of limiting weaknesses.
But I feel like his production should be better. I'm hesitant that he might disappear too much. I'm open to the idea that he's doing a nice job of filling the gap, and the play becomes someone else's to make.
But man, Gay can really wreck a drive for the offense. I'd really hate for Gay to walk because his measurables aren't walking back through the door. But I may just be a moron.
Gay's inconsistency is why you need Bolton.
Because yes, Gay's going to be boom or bust sometimes. And he needs a steady Eddie sort of player alongside him to clean up the occasional mess because of that.
But in between some of those overly aggressive mistakes, he's going to make plays that maybe 5 'backers in this league can make (maybe 5). He's just a power/speed monster out there and plays with the sort of abandon that has him appear a step ahead when he's right.
But if you're gonna lose Bolton, I don't think you can build a LB corps around Gay. Precisely because of the inconsistency. [Reply]
Gay had some kind of meltdown on the sideline last week in the 4th quarter. It involved Pat getting up off the bench and saying something.
Now he came back in and ended up making a great play on the PBU and to be honest, these things happen alot in the NFL but it was a bit of a mental note for me.
I will also caution myself here because to play LB'er in the NFL, well, you gotta be a little nuts. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Gay had some kind of meltdown on the sideline last week in the 4th quarter. It involved Pat getting up off the bench and saying something.
Now he came back in and ended up making a great play on the PBU and to be honest, these things happen alot in the NFL but it was a bit of a mental note for me.
I will also caution myself here because to play LB'er in the NFL, well, you gotta be a little nuts.
It should be obvious, given Gay's personal history, that he is not a particularly stable person.
Where'd you catch that? Is there video? I totally missed it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
I was at the game, no clue if any of it was televised.
Again, it happens alot more than it's talked about usually not a big deal. It all blew over, but I was watching it all play out.
Meanwhile you need to keep a pulse-ox monitor on Bolton during games to make sure he's still alive.
Which again, speaks to how complementary the two of them are. Yes, Willie's pretty much insane. But with that insanity comes that level of manic energy that you want just a liiiiiittle of on your roster.
You want LT out there shouting "We 'bout to go out here like a bunch of crazed dogs!!" and making the guys on the other side thinking "man, maybe I should've gone into sales..."
But you can't have that if you don't have Bolton keeping his head on straight. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
In a vacuum - Tranquill.
If we're going to extend Bolton - Gay.
Gay and Bolton are just such amazing complements to each other. Everywhere one struggles, the other excels. Everything one brings from a personality standpoint, the other heightens through his own personality.
I think I'd go with Gay no matter what. He's 25, Tranquil is 28. Each of them has all the tools and both of them have an injury history that has kept them out of games. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Gay's inconsistency is why you need Bolton.
Because yes, Gay's going to be boom or bust sometimes. And he needs a steady Eddie sort of player alongside him to clean up the occasional mess because of that.
But in between some of those overly aggressive mistakes, he's going to make plays that maybe 5 'backers in this league can make (maybe 5). He's just a power/speed monster out there and plays with the sort of abandon that has him appear a step ahead when he's right.
But if you're gonna lose Bolton, I don't think you can build a LB corps around Gay. Precisely because of the inconsistency.
Well said. I think I agree with it. I just love to watch Gay wreck shit and I'm open to the idea of rose colored glasses there. [Reply]