Willie Gay Jr. arrested in relation to misdemeanor ‘criminal damage’ case on Wednesday night

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was arrested in Overland Park at around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.

He was booked into the Johnson County Detention Center on a charge of “misdemeanor criminal damage,” according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo did not say much when asked about Gay’s situation and whether he would play against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night.

“I really don’t know — I’m going to leave that up to Andy (Reid),” said Spagnuolo. “I’m sure he’ll address it, but if this happened in the game and it was an injury — [Thursday], we just operated that way, but we’ll see what happens.”

Pressed about the status of Gay’s mental health and the struggles the linebacker discussed earlier in the season, Spagnuolo kept it simple.

“All I can say about Willie is I love working with him,” he said. “He’s been terrific. I mean, I think you guys know he had a baby — I talk to him about that a lot. Hopefully, things will work out for the best for everybody.”

Gay pleaded not guilty at his court appearance on Thursday afternoon, is expected to be released — and his next court date is scheduled for March 2.

In 12 games (11 starts) this regular season, the 23-year old registered 48 tackles, four passes defensed and two interceptions. He had his lowest active snap percentage (26%) against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round.