Demario Davis and Pete Werner missed the entirety of the preseason due to injuries. You never want players to be injured, but there was a silver lining to their absence: Other linebackers had the chance to step up.
Willie Gay Jr. and Anfernee Orji both showed up big in the preseason. Let’s separate the two because they entered camp at two different places and had two different benefits from the preseason.
Gay seemed to be entering a training camp battle with Werner, but Werner’s extension put that assumption in doubt. Pair that with Werner missing the majority of training camp, but not losing his job, and you are looking at Gay likely always destined to be the strong side backer.
Gay made the most of his preseason by playing a large amount of snaps in the first two games. Getting this amount of reps allowed him to get comfortable in a new system quickly. As a guy who will play Week 1, this was huge for him.
Orji was fighting for a roster spot and became a lock with an emphatic preseason. Orji went from a player who could end up on the practice squad again to a young linebacker to be excited about. He even got some reps versus the opposing starters that did play in the preseason.
No one is ever happy to see an injury occur. Getting Gay quickly acclimated and Orji’s major development were two positives to come from the situation, though.
