Chiefs mum on whether Willie Gay Jr. will return to lineup vs. Eagles

Kansas City Chiefs second-year linebacker Willie Gay Jr. is eligible to be activated from injured reserve this week, but there is no telling right now if he will indeed make his return.

“He’s making progress,” said head coach Andy Reid on Wednesday. “We’ll just see with Willie.”

The Chiefs placed the 23-year-old Gay on injured reserve after he suffered a turf toe injury during the team’s final preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to the injury, Gay had been in line to start next to middle linebacker Anthony Hitchens.

With Gay out of the lineup for the first three games, the Chiefs have mixed-and-matched at strong-side linebacker. Rookie Nick Bolton has garnered 160 defensive snaps — just four shy of Hitchens. Veteran linebacker Ben Niemann has also seen his share of time, totaling 130 snaps.

Whenever Gay returns, that linebacker rotation will be shuffled — but it remains to be seen exactly how it will change. Considering he already spoke on Monday of this week, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo isn’t expected to be made available to the media until next week.

The Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles at Noon Arrowhead Time on Sunday.