‘He flies around.’ Dolphins LB Willie Gay Jr. is training camp’s biggest star
It started on a rainy day in Kansas City, Missouri.
The then-second year Willie Gay Jr. noticed the low energy of his Chiefs teammates and wanted to provide a bit of spark. So as the team walked outside, he let out a very primal, guttural scream.
“The next thing I know, people just started buzzing about it,” the Miami Dolphins linebacker said Sunday. “But I never did it for people; I do it to get my blood flowing a little bit. But then everywhere I go now, it’s become big. It helps me get going a little bit too.”
Now, more than three years later, Gay’s shriek has not only become a fan favorite at training camp but evident of what he brought to the team.
“It’s a pillar of who he is as a person as we really get to know him,” coach Mike McDaniel said Sunday. “So what does that mean? Any time there’s a tip or an overthrow, he’s a potential takeaway guy. He is around the ball and he is challenging both the people in his position group and the offense. I think he’s a guy that has shown up every day and I think that’s who he is and we’re happy to have him on the team.”
Through 10 practices, Gay has not only emerged as one of the standouts of training camp but arguably the most consistent player. His body of work can be summed up in just two words: energized playmaker. Whether a sack, pass breakup, interception or tackle for loss, Gay gets his hands on the ball — and his teammates juiced in the process.
“Blitz the edge, blitz the middle, cover man to man or play all kind of zone coverages — I feel like I’m in a great role being here,” Gay said in late July. “The defense is perfect for guys like myself. That’s why I feel like our room is so good and well-rounded because we all are skilled in that aspect. I feel like we’re all going to benefit from it.”
Gay’s high-level play is especially surprising considering his 2024 season. After four years with the Chiefs, the two-time Super Bowl champion signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints. His numbers immediately plummeted. Not only was Gay no longer the consistent starter that he was in Kansas City, he experienced career lows across various tackling categories. The lack of snaps eventually started to affect him mentally.
“Probably Week 11, I kind of clocked out because I was like, ‘Bro, I’m playing 10 snaps a game,’” Gay recalled July 28. “I was just like forget it — it was just negative, honestly. I’ll give you that. Me and God, we talked about it like always. I learned that to honor him and this game the way I give back is to be grateful in what I do have. And then I feel like he’ll bless me with more after that, but first he wants to see me be grateful in the role that I am in. That’s kind of all it was. Just trying to be the guy when it wasn’t my time yet.”
That conversation appears to have helped recenter Gay. In late March, he signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins joining a crowded inside linebacker room that presumably already has its two starters in Tyrel Dodson and Jordyn Brooks. That, however, hasn’t deterred the 27-year-old who has used his versatility — Gay can line up at inside or outside linebacker — to make a case for more playing time in 2025.
“Whatever they want me to do,” Gay responded when asked what position is his best. “Inside, I can go get the ball from that angle. We’re working on some things outside where I’m blitzing off the edge getting to the quarterback, so whatever, honestly. Any position I’m put in, I’m going to try to make plays.”
That sort of “do-it-all” attitude has certainly found himself a fan in McDaniel who called Gay “ one of my favorite personality veteran additions” during his tenure in South Florida. It has also made him a locker room favorite.
“He brings himself, but he also brings energy from out of other people,” McDaniel said July 29. “Those are the types of people in the locker room that can be compass setters and I’ve been incredibly happy with having him here and he makes himself present and his teammates are aware of him every practice even when he’s not making plays, but his speed to the ball is real and it’s infectious in helping us capture the vision that we have of how we play football.”
“He’s all over the place,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb said July 29. “He flies around. He’s a Super Bowl champ, so I always tell him, ‘We need that Super Bowl DNA. Whatever bits and crumbs you’ve got for us, we need it,’ and he shows it each and every day. It’s great to have him on our team, for sure.”
That, more than anything, might be Gay’s biggest addition to this team. He’s a champion. And not just a one-time champion either — he was a starting linebacker on the Chiefs team that won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023. As Chubb said, the Dolphins certainly need that.
“Nobody is bigger than the team, there’s no superstars,” Gay said when asked about the traits of a championship team after signing in late March. “Obviously I 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 amongst the crowd. Things like that I noticed was different when I went to New Orleans, once against not to bash New Orleans – it’s a great city, great team and all. But just something 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.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 10:57 AM.
