Marcus Maye

Chargers Claim S Marcus Maye

November 27th, 2024 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Marcus Maye will join a fourth NFL team, not reaching free agency after the Dolphins waived him. The veteran safety is on his way to Los Angeles.

The former Jets, Saints and Dolphins defender did not make it past the Chargers on the waiver wire, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. Maye is due just more than $400K over the season’s remainder. To make room for Maye on the roster, Pelissero notes the Bolts placed Eli Apple on IR.

Miami became the second franchise to cut Maye this year, following New Orleans, who used Maye’s deal as help toward cap compliance during an annual journey for the NFC South club. Maye played 11 games for the Dolphins. This has marked the first year the former second-round pick has not been a regular starter, but Miami used him on 293 defensive plays. Pro Football Focus graded Maye as having bounced back from a down 2023, slotting him 21st among safeties this season.

Maye’s stock soared in 2021, as the Jets — after trading Jamal Adams months earlier — franchise-tagged him. It has not reached that level since. An Achilles tear and DUI arrest plagued Maye during his final months as a Jet. New York let Maye walk in 2022, and New Orleans signed off on a three-year, $22.5MM deal. Maye, 31, did not live up to that pact; most notably, he missed 10 games in 2023 due to injury and a suspension. The Dolphins used Maye as a third safety alongside Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer this season.

Wednesday’s claim does mark an interesting bounce-back effort for Maye, as other veteran safeties recently cut — Adams, Eddie Jackson — have not found new homes yet. Maye will join a Chargers team that employs the NFL’s second-highest-paid safety (Derwin James) along with recently re-signed sidekick Alohi Gilman. The latter missed practice Wednesday. Trade pickup Elijah Molden also plays a regular role in the Bolts’ secondary, potentially making Maye an overqualified insurance option.

Maye has started 80 of the 88 career games he has played. He will now step into a high-end defense, with Jesse Minter elevating the unit from 24th in points allowed in 2023 to first through 11 games this season. This represents an interesting opportunity for Maye, who figures to play an auxiliary role for a playoff contender. Apple played in four Chargers games, seeing action on 47 defensive plays.

Dolphins To Waive S Marcus Maye

November 26th, 2024 at 12:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Among the handful of safety cap casualties this offseason, Marcus Maye will join Jamal Adams and Eddie Jackson in being cut twice in 2024. The Dolphins are moving on from the longtime starter, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets.

This exit follows Maye’s Saints departure earlier this year, though it is not yet certain the Dolphins are ending this partnership for good. If Maye clears waivers, Pelissero adds Miami would like to keep him around via a practice squad deal.

Similar to the Broncos’ Greg Dulcich cut Monday, the Dolphins have roster space to clear in order to go through with an activation. Safety Patrick McMorris is set to fill Maye’s spot on the 53-man roster, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson adds. Miami designated Morris for return November 7, meaning he must be activated or moved to season-ending IR by Thursday.

A sixth-round rookie, McMorris will soon jump ahead of Maye in the Dolphins’ safety hierarchy. McMorris has indeed been activated from IR, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. This transaction leaves Miami with four injury activations remaining this season.

That said, the Dolphins still could elevate Maye from the practice squad — should the former Jets second-round pick clear waivers and stay with the team — to continue using him a supporting role in their secondary. Maye, who signed a one-year deal worth $1.38MM in June, played in all 11 Dolphins games and made three starts this season.

Perennially needing to carve out extensive cap space each offseason, the Saints released Maye after two seasons. He missed 10 games due to injury and a personal conduct suspension last season. This season with the Dolphins, the former franchise tag recipient made 30 tackles and forced a fumble. Pro Football Focus had viewed the 31-year-old defender as having a bounce-back year, slotting him 21st among safety regulars (over 293 defensive snaps). The Dolphins, however, have Jevon Holland and fellow cap casualty-turned-starter Jordan Poyer as their primary back-line duo.

Although a few of this year’s safety cuts are still with teams (Poyer, Justin Simmons, Quandre Diggs, Kevin Byard), Adams has not resurfaced since his Titans release while the Ravens cut Jackson this weekend. Adams’ former teammate in New York, Maye has made 80 career starts. A team to submit a claim would owe him just more than $400K for the season’s remainder.

Dolphins To Sign S Marcus Maye

June 10th, 2024 at 8:23pm CST by Ben Levine

Marcus Maye has found his next squad. The veteran safety is signing with the Dolphins, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.

Maye was cut by the Saints earlier this offseason, ending his two-year stint in New Orleans. At the time, we heard the defensive back was drawing interest from a handful of teams, including the Titans. However, it’s been quiet on the Maye front for about three months before today’s news. Schultz notes that Maye did indeed attract interest from “multiple” suitors. Ultimately, Maye opted for the Dolphins because he wants to be part of a hopeful “Super Bowl contender” in Miami.

The Saints gave Maye a three-year, $22.5MM contract in March 2022, but he only got into 17 games across two seasons with the organization. Injuries and multiple arrests impacted his stint in New Orleans. Maye’s three-game ban — levied midway through last season — stemmed from a DUI arrest while the DB was with the Jets, but the player was also arrested for aggravated assault with a firearm in fall 2022.

New Orleans ultimately decided to move on following a 2023 campaign where Maye was limited to seven games. While his counting stats were serviceable (including a pair of interceptions), Pro Football Focus graded him only 80th among 95 qualifying safeties. The site was much kinder with their 2022 assessment, grading Maye as the 26th-best safety.

The former second-round pick had five up-and-down seasons with the Jets to begin his career. Maye was a top-20 safety between 2018 and 2020, including that latter season where PFF ranked him fifth at his position. However, before he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in 2021, Maye graded as one of the league’s worst safeties through six games.

Of course, the Dolphins won’t be nearly as dependent on Maye. The team brought in another former AFC East safety in Jordan Poyer, pairing the veteran with Jevon Holland in the starting lineup. The rest of the team’s depth at the position consists of Elijah Campbell, sixth-round rookie Patrick McMorris, and UDFAs Mark Perry and Jordan Colbert, meaning Maye should be in line for a role as a key backup.

S Marcus Maye Drawing Interest; Titans Visit On Tap

March 17th, 2024 at 1:43pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 2024 free agent class features a number of veteran safeties released by their respective teams in the lead-in to the new league year. Marcus Maye is among them, but he could soon have a new home.

Maye is on the radar of “several” suitors, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. She adds the former Jets and Saints starter has a visit with the Titans scheduled for Monday. Tennessee’s only free agent move in the secondary to date is the addition of cornerback Chidobe Awuzie.

Kevin Byard occupied a starting safety role throughout his tenure in Nashville, but as part of the team’s efforts to move on from veteran contracts, he was dealt to the Eagles at the trade deadline. Byard became a free agent due to Philadelphia’s decision to release him, but he joined the Bears just before the start of the negotiating window. Maye did not reach the open market until the league year began, but he is now free to speak with interested teams.

The 31-year-old was informed at the end of February that he would be cut by New Orleans. The move was initially expected to occur with a post-June 1 designation given the financial benefits of doing so. However, teams are permitted to use that designation on only two players, and the Saints (in their latest round of salary cap gymnastics) did so with wideout Michael Thomas and quarterback Jameis Winston. Maye was therefore let go one day before free agency opened, but in any event he will provide his next team with a starting-caliber option.

The former second-rounder has started all 77 of his career games, but missed time through injury and suspension was a factor in his Saints tenure in particular. Maye was absent for 17 contests during his two-year run with New Orleans, and he posted only two interceptions and four pass deflections during that span. His next contract will no doubt check in at a lower figure than the three-year, $22.5MM contract he received from the Saints in 2022. If healthy, though, the Florida alum could prove to be an effective pickup for Tennessee or another team.

The Titans ranked 18th in the league against the pass last season, and their six interceptions were the fewest in the NFL. Adding playmaking on the backend via free agency or the draft would go a long way in helping the team rebound in the secondary under new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. It will be worth watching to see how Maye’s Titans visit goes tomorrow and how many other suitors pursue him in the coming days.

Saints Plan To Release S Marcus Maye

February 29th, 2024 at 8:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

Again needing to make several moves to reach cap compliance, the Saints will make a cap-casualty call this year. They are planning to release Marcus Maye.

The team informed the veteran safety he will be cut at the start of the 2024 league year, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets. Maye has been with the Saints for two seasons, but injuries and a 2023 suspension have kept him off the field for extended stretches.

Cutting the former Jets second-round pick, who has missed 17 games since signing with the Saints in 2022, will save only $1.19MM. It would, then, make more sense for New Orleans to make Maye a post-June 1 cut. Teams can designate two players as such each year, and this genre of cut would save the team $7.2MM. Teams cannot release post-June 1 cuts early, so the delay here points to that type of release transpiring.

The Saints gave Maye a three-year, $22.5MM contract in March 2022. While Maye started 10 games that season, injuries and multiple arrests have impacted his Louisiana stay. Maye’s three-game suspension — levied midway through last season — stemmed from a DUI arrest while the DB was still with the Jets. Maye, however, was also arrested for aggravated assault with a firearm in fall 2022. That charge was later dropped due to insufficient evidence, but Maye’s Saints tenure did not go smoothly.

Maye, who will turn 31 next week, only gave the Saints seven games last season. A shoulder injury prevented him from suiting up for the Saints’ final six games. Maye also endured multiple three-game injury-driven absences in 2022, giving him four such instances of being out for at least three consecutive contests during his Saints tenure.

No guaranteed money remains on Maye’s deal, but the Saints’ penchant for contract restructures will affect another transaction. Three void years are on Maye’s deal stemming from a 2023 restructure, spreading out more than $6MM in dead money. A post-June 1 release will save the team some money this year, but it will ensure the contract remains on the books through 2025. The Saints are inching toward the NFL’s salary ceiling. Prior to the Maye move, they sit just more than $16MM over the cap.

Franchise-tagged by the Jets in 2021, Maye suffered an Achilles tear to end his New York tenure. After grading Maye as the league’s 26th-best safety in 2022, Pro Football Focus slotted him 80th last season. The Saints have Tyrann Mathieu signed through 2024, while rookie Jordan Howden replaced Maye as a starter in seven games. The fifth-round pick played 569 defensive snaps in 2023.

Saints Place DT Malcolm Roach, S Marcus Maye On IR

December 6th, 2023 at 7:54pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints announced a number of roster transactions today along with their earlier successful waiver claim of linebacker Monty Rice. The team placed two defenders, defensive tackle Malcolm Roach and safety Marcus Maye, on injured reserve and signed defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher to their active roster from the Broncos‘ practice squad. Lastly, New Orleans released safety Daniel Sorensen from its practice squad.

Roach, a former undrafted free agent out of Texas, is a disappointing addition to the injury list as he is having a career year in New Orleans. As a defensive tackle, his numbers won’t jump off the stat sheet, but Roach has been a strong contributor coming off the bench in the team’s defensive line rotation. So far this year, Roach has career-highs in total tackles (38), tackles for loss (3), and batted passes (3). Pro Football Focus (subscription required) also ranks Roach as the league’s 24th-best interior defensive lineman.

Maye has also played a large role in the Saints’ defense the past two years, serving as a starter when healthy. In his first year away from the Jets last year, Maye started 10 games for New Orleans, missing games here and there throughout the year. That trend continued as Maye has missed five of the team’s first 12 games in 2023 and is set to miss at least four more on IR. In his seven starts this year, Maye has contributed two interceptions, his first picks since 2020.

With Maye sidelined, the Saints will likely rely on rookie fifth-round pick Jordan Howden, who the team has turned to on multiple occasions this year to start in place of Maye. On the line, Mustipher will come in to make up for the depth lost in Roach’s departure. Mustipher, an undrafted rookie out of Penn State, was signed to Denver’s practice squad after failing to make the 53-man roster to start the year. He was a disruptive presence as a Nittany Lion with three sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss in college.

Sorensen, the former long-time Chiefs safety, will head to free agency at 33 years old. He had two picks in as many starts with the Saints last year and is set to have his first season without an interception since 2015. He could find himself on a new practice squad as a depth option, but the veteran’s time in New Orleans appears to be over for now.

NFL Suspends Saints S Marcus Maye

September 20th, 2023 at 1:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints will not have one of their starting safeties available for a bit. Marcus Maye received a three-game suspension Wednesday. This is in connection with Maye’s 2021 DUI arrest, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

Maye’s arrest occurred back in February 2021 in Florida, but the case continued until this summer. Maye, 30, received six months’ probation via a plea deal he accepted in August. The former Jets second-rounder is in his second season with the Saints.

This arrest occurred ahead of Maye’s final Jets season, when the team franchise-tagged him before an ACL tear ended the parties’ five-season partnership. Maye signed a three-year, $22.5MM deal with the Saints in 2022. A 31-month gap between an off-field incident and a suspension certainly represents a lengthy span. Maye had entered a not guilty plea initially before pleading no contest to the DUI charge this summer.

The February 2021 incident also brought charges of damage to property and person, along with leaving the scene of an accident. Maye also faced a civil suit stemming from the crash; that case is ongoing. Maye was also arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm in an alleged 2022 road rage incident, but the Jefferson Parish district attorney’s office cited a lack of evidence and refused charges. Players do not need to be convicted or even charged to receive NFL suspensions, but Maye’s current ban covers the 2021 incident.

New Orleans features a veteran secondary housing Pro Bowlers Marshon Lattimore and Tyrann Mathieu. The team assembled the Mathieu-Maye duo last year, adding Maye in March and then signing Mathieu after the 2022 draft. Maye missed seven games last season due to rib and shoulder injuries.

Maye has delivered early production this season, intercepting a pass in Week 1 and notching a sack in Week 2. The Saints have veteran Lonnie Johnson Jr., fifth-round rookie Jordan Howden and veteran special-teamer J.T. Gray as safety backups. Among this group, Howden’s 26 defensive snaps lead the way this season.

Extra Points: Jefferson, Maye, International Pathway Program

September 14th, 2023 at 9:42pm CST by Ben Levine

An undrafted wideout is working his way back to the field following a tragic car crash earlier this year. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston, the 49ers worked out Louisiana receiver Michael Jefferson today.

Jefferson earned third-team All-Sun Belt honors in 2022 after finishing with 51 receptions for 810 yards and seven touchdowns. Thanks to his performance, the receiver was projected to be a mid-round pick in the 2023 draft. However, Jefferson was injured in a car accident in April that killed another driver, and the player required multiple surgeries.

He was expected to resume his career in 2024, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier this month that Jefferson had been cleared by doctors to “fly, take physicals and join a team.”

It sounds like his first opportunity could come in San Francisco. The 49ers are currently stashing four receivers on their practice squad in Willie Snead, Chris Conley, Tay Martin, and Isaiah Winstead.

More notes from around the NFL…

Saints safety Marcus Maye got six months of probation stemming from a 2021 driving under the influence charge, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. Maye will have his drivers license suspended for six months as a result of the plea deal, and he was also given 50 hours of community service with the opportunity to buy them out. Maye allegedly crashed into another car while driving on the Florida Turnpike and was initially charged with driving under the influence, DUI/damage to property and person, and leaving the scene of the crash. The player also continues to deal with a civil suit from the driver of the other car who is seeking $30K due to injuries.
The NFL International Pathway Program has expanded in scope since it’s inception in 2016, with the 2023 iteration allowing teams from the AFC West and NFC North to allocate an extra roster spot to an international player. According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the NFL will provide an international player exception to all 32 teams starting in 2024. There are currently 24 active players who participated in the International Pathway Program.
The NFL has established an ownership committee that will evaluate current ownership rules, potentially allowing “institutional capital” to invest in teams, per Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal. As Liz Clarke, Nicki Jhabvala and Mark Maske of the Washington Post write, this committee could open the door to private equity firms buying stakes in teams, following the ownership rules previously established by the NBA, MLB, and NHL. Mike Klis of 9News in Denver reports that the committee includes Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, and Broncos owner Greg Penner.

NFC South Notes: Campbell, Maye, Sanders

April 23rd, 2023 at 11:48am CST by Rory Parks

Defensive lineman Calais Campbell has accomplished a great deal in his NFL career, though he has never won a Super Bowl ring. So it came as something of a surprise when the six-time Pro Bowler, who is entering his age-37 season, agreed to sign with the Falcons in March after the Ravens made him a cap casualty. After all, Atlanta has not made the playoffs since 2018 and will be starting Desmond Ridder — a 2022 third-round choice who made just four starts in his rookie campaign — at quarterback.

Still, when this offseason arrived, the Falcons had free agency money to spend for the first time in the Terry Fontenot/Arthur Smith era, and they have been especially aggressive in bolstering their defense. Jessie Bates, Mike Hughes, Kaden Elliss, and David Onyemata were signed, and as Mike Rothstein of ESPN.com writes, adding those talents and a player like Campbell supports the message that Fontenot and Smith want to convey: that Atlanta is ready to compete and is a prime destination for high-end talent.

Campbell acknowledged that the uncertainty of the NFC South played a role in his decision (Twitter link via Rothstein), and he believes that the Falcons will indeed contend for a playoff spot in 2023. He spoke glowingly of his meetings with Smith, Fontenot, and new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, and he also watched tape of Ridder. All of that turned the Falcons from a team that was not on Campbell’s radar into the team for which he eschewed an extended free agency courtship.

Now for more from the NFC South, starting with several more items on Campbell and the Falcons:

Campbell said that more teams were interested in his services in 2023 than during his free agency stay in 2022, which ultimately concluded with a new deal with Baltimore. He also said he was “close” to signing with another club this year before agreeing to terms with the Falcons, though that mystery team did not make him feel the same way Atlanta did. In addition to his meetings with the Jaguars and Falcons, he had visits with the Jets and Bills on the docket, and he told CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson during an episode of The Crew podcast that Aaron Rodgers — who is expected to join the Jets in the near future — texted him and implored him to sign with Gang Green (Twitter link via Ari Meirov of The33rdTeam.com).
As Campbell explained in the above-referenced podcast, the Jets tried to get a deal done with him even before his would-be visit with New York, so perhaps they were the team that he nearly picked over the Falcons. And, per Rothstein, another factor that worked in the Falcons’ favor is that Atlanta plans to use him as a “true D-end,” meaning that he will line up on the edge on first and second downs.
Saints safety Marcus Maye was arrested in September on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm. As Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk wrote last month, those charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence. As most NFL fans know by now, the absence of criminal charges does not mean that a player will avoid league punishment, but since the time of Williams’ report, nothing has emerged on that front.
Running back Miles Sanders signed a four-year, $25MM contract with the Panthers in March, a deal that features $13MM in guaranteed money. Sanders indicated that the presence of Duce Staley, whom Carolina recently hired as its assistant head coach & running backs coach, was a big reason for his decision to join the Panthers (Twitter link via ESPN’s David Newton). Sanders spent the first four years of his career (2019-22) with the Eagles, and Staley was Philadelphia’s assistant head coach and running backs coach for the first two of those seasons.

NFC South Notes: Bucs, QBs, Maye, Panthers

February 15th, 2023 at 10:26am CST by Sam Robinson

Tom Brady‘s retirement shoved the Buccaneers‘ void-years bill to 2023, and the $35.1MM cap hit will complicate the team’s plans to replace the all-time great. Tampa Bay is more than $55MM over the cap, as of Wednesday, and has upper-crust cornerback Jamel Dean on track for free agency. While the rest of the NFC South is being connected to quarterbacks, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets the Bucs should not be considered players for top-tier QB free agents. This would include Jimmy Garoppolo and almost definitely Derek Carr, and while Stroud adds the team will look at the market, the Bucs’ price range could be considered in the midlevel area.

Former second-rounder Kyle Trask, whom Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes Bucs players are high on as a player who can compete for the starting job (after two years in development), is the only quarterback left on the roster. The team holds the No. 19 overall pick. Here is the latest from the NFC South:

The Saints have been the team most closely connected to Carr. They will need to complete their usual batch of winter restructures to be in position to pay him, though there are not as many avenues available to the crafty organization compared to recent years. But the Saints started their path to cap compliance Wednesday. They restructured Marcus Maye‘s deal, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. By moving $6.07MM of Maye’s salary into a signing bonus, the team created $4.85MM in cap space. Baby steps. The Saints are still more than $50MM over the cap.
Another Matt Rhule-era hire is no longer with the Panthers. The team parted ways with VP of player personnel Pat Stewart, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets. Stewart, who worked with Rhule at both Western Carolina and Temple, joined the Panthers in 2020.
New Panthers HC Frank Reich will bring in ex-Rams assistant Jonathan Cooley, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets. Cooley is set to join the Panthers as their defensive backs coach. He and new Carolina DC Ejiro Evero worked together in Los Angeles, with the Rams promoting Cooley after Evero left for Denver last year. The Rams, despite blocking Cooley from interviewing with the Vikings in 2022, fired him just after this past season ended.
Another Rams staffer fired along with Cooley in January will catch on in the NFC South. The Saints are hiring Kevin Carberry to be their assistant offensive line coach, Yates adds (on Twitter). Carberry served as the Rams’ offensive line coach during their Super Bowl LVI-winning 2021 season and last year. He will replace Zach Strief, who is now the Broncos’ O-line coach.
When Ryan Jensen went down during a July practice, he tore his MCL and PCL fully but only partially tore his ACL. This allowed for the veteran Buccaneers center to avoid surgery, Dan Pompei of Athletic notes (subscription required). Jensen also suffered meniscus damage, per Pompei, who adds retirement was a consideration for the injured blocker. Jensen took out a $5MM insurance policy in the event of a career-ending injury. A stem cell treatment in Antigua, however, made a difference in Jensen’s recovery. The 31-year-old blocker managed to make it back to practice late in the season and played in Tampa Bay’s wild-card loss to Dallas. Two years remain on Jensen’s three-year, $39MM contract.
Eddy Pineiro came to Charlotte as a Zane Gonzalez replacement, but the ex-Bears kicker fared well. Pineiro made 33 of 35 field goals, including a 15-for-16 mark from beyond 40 yards, and Person views him as the most likely Panthers kicker in 2023. Gonzalez suffered a preseason quad injury, leading to a full-season IR stay. The Rhule signee is under contract through 2023, while Pineiro is a free agent. But the latter has ties to special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, whom Person adds Reich is retaining. Tabor coached Pineiro in Chicago as well.

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