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Chiefs place Willie Gay Jr. on injured reserve

On Monday, we learned that the Kansas City linebacker had sustained a toe injury.

Atlanta Falcons v Kansas City Chiefs Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Kansas City Chiefs have placed second-year linebacker Willie Gay Jr. on their Reserve/Injured list.

On Monday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed what had already been rumored: that Gay had suffered a toe injury during the final preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday night.

This move means that Gay will miss at least the first three games of the regular season — against the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers.

During his remarks on Wednesday, general manager Brett Veach didn't want to get into the specifics of the injury — deferring those questions to Reid and head trainer Rick Burkholder — but did say the team was prepared for the eventuality that Gay would be unavailable as the season opened.

“Just [want to] make sure we’re not caught short-handed Week 1 one and make sure we have depth at all of these positions,” he told reporters. “Hopefully, it works out — and we’re carrying extra at a certain position — but if not, we’re prepared.”

Linebacker Ben Niemann would be the most likely player to take snaps in Gay’s place — but rookie Nick Bolton could also see some additional action.

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