Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. started in eight of 16 regular-season games and registered 39 total tackles with one sack, one forced fumble and three breakouts in his rookie year until he suffered. a sprained ankle in week 17.

He didn’t realize at that point that he wouldn’t be playing again until August 2021 at the earliest. While working to return for the Super Bowl LV game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Gay came down to a torn meniscus and had surgery to fix the problem.

Through Charles goldman From USA Today / Chiefs Wire, the 23-year-old told reporters he still wasn’t sure exactly how or when he suffered the setback, but credited athletic coach Julie Frymyer with preparing him for the sessions from this summer’s training camp.

“But all I know is that during this offseason period with this coaching staff we have been working nonstop, me and Ms. Julie, and all of her help she has,” he said. he explains. “It’s been a real pain and that’s why I’m here today, 100 percent.”

He added that he just wanted to do the job assigned to him in any case. “Being able to count on them and do what I’m doing to the best of my ability,” he said. “Whether it’s tackling, covering guys, blitzing, just keep improving every day on the details of the games and executing every little detail that I have with my missions and everything.

The second-round selection was initially on track to return to training camp, but his latest comments suggest he’s even ahead of schedule in the dying days of spring.