The New York Jets and star safety Marcus Maye have not been in a great situation for a while now. Maye, 28, was set to hit NFL free agency this past spring before New York placed the franchise tag on the former second-round pick.
While Maye opted to sign said tag, there’s seemingly no future for the former Florida standout in New Jersey. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler even went as far to report that the free safety would like to be dealt ahead of the November NFL trade deadline.
If Maye is among those put on the block, there promises to be a ton of interest in the Jets’ Most Valuable Player from the 2020 campaign. Here’s a dude who started a combined 32 games in 2019 and 2020, recording 153 tackles, 18 passes defended and three interceptions while yielding a sub 70 passer rating when targeted. Here’s a look at four ideal trade scenarios for the impending free agent.
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Marcus Maye trade to the Baltimore Ravens
As we saw in their comeback Week 5 win over the Indianapolis Colts, pass defense continues to be an issue for the otherwise loaded Ravens. Carson Wentz completed 25-of-35 passes for 402 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions in said game.
With Marcus Peters sidelined for the season, Baltimore has yielded a 67.1% completion mark with eight touchdowns against three interceptions to quarterbacks on the season. Why not go out there and fix a glaring hole in the defensive secondary?
Marcus Maye trade to the Los Angeles Rams
Despite boasting a 4-1 record, this is an area the Rams might be able to improve in. They lost starting free safety John Johnson to the Cleveland Browns in free agency last spring. The combination of Taylor Rapp and Terrell Burgess just aren’t cutting it.
Sure Los Angeles has a deficiency of draft pick compensation to offer up after the plethora of blockbuster trades the team has made in the past. But it could still offer up one of its expected compensatory third-round picks in 2021 for Maye. Perhaps, the Rams could even entice an offensively-challenged Jets team with someone like young guard Bobby Evans as well as a mid-round pick.
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Marcus Maye trade to the Dallas Cowboys
Everything seems to be coming together for the Boys in Big D. This includes a revamped defense under first-year coordinator Dan Quinn that has forced the most takeaways in the NFL through five weeks. Heck, second-year corner Trevon Diggs has already recorded six interceptions.
The idea of adding a Legion of Boom-type component to Dallas’ defense is something that could very well entice the always-aggressive Jerry Jones. Maye has the ball-hawking skills these Cowboys have been missing at free safety for eons. The idea here would be to build a bully in the defensive secondary as Dallas’ offense continues to dominate. The Jets could very well be persuaded to part ways with Maye for young wide receiver Michael Gallup, who’d be a big help for rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. Just some food for thought.
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Marcus Maye trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
One of the only issues for an otherwise impressive Tampa Bay squad has been injuries in the secondary. The defending champs head into Week 6 having given up a league-high 1,572 passing yards to go with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions. Regardless of how well Tom Brady continues to play, that’s just not going to cut it.
For the Bucs, teaming Marcus Maye up with stud sophomore strong safety Antoine Winfield Jr. might be too hard to pass up on. That’d create the single-best safety tandem in the NFL. In turn, the Jets nab impressive young wide receiver Tyler Johnson and a third-round pick from the Bucs. Make it be!