Tag: Marcus Maye contract

Jets S Marcus Maye among 6 franchise-tagged players who didn’t sign extensions

After not agreeing on a contract extension with the Jets, Marcus Maye is one of six who will play on the franchise tag in 2021.

Marcus Maye and the Jets could not agree on a contract extension before the July 15 franchise tag deadline.

As a result, Maye will play on a one-year, $10.612 million franchise tag tender in 2021. The Jets now have to wait until next offseason to negotiate with Maye and his representatives again. New York can place the franchise tag on Maye for a second consecutive year but at a steeper price. The other options the Jets have are to trade him, come to terms on a new contract in free agency, or let him walk in free agency.

Five other franchise-tagged players were unable to agree on long-term deals before Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline. Here’s a look at the rest of the players joining Maye, as well as what they’ll make on the tag.

Marcus Maye’s agent rips Jets for refusing to ‘take care of their best player’

Marcus Maye’s agent is unhappy with the way contract talks are going with the Jets.

Uh-oh. Another Jets safety is not thrilled with the way contract negotiations are going.

That’s assuming Marcus Maye and his agent, Erik Burkhardt, are on the same page. Burkhardt took to Twitter Tuesday night to express his displeasure for what he perceives to be the Jets’ unwillingness to get a long-term deal done with his client.

 

Tuesday marked a week remaining before the deadline for teams to designate franchise or transition tags on their pending free agents. Maye hinted at that on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

Jets GM Joe Douglas claimed after the 2020 regular season that re-signing Maye would be a “priority” for Gang Green this offseason. The Jets have until March 9 to place the franchise or transition tag on Maye. Tagging Maye would cost New York around $11.196 million, according to Over The Cap.

The tag would buy New York time to work out a long-term deal, as Maye would hit the open market at the start of the new league year on March 17 without a tag. From there, the Jets have a hard deadline of 4 p.m. on July 15 to work out a contract extension. If the two sides cannot agree by then, Maye would have to play out the 2021 season on the tag.

Maye is coming off a career year. In coverage, the veteran safety allowed 22 receptions on 36 targets for 229 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added 88 total tackles, 11 passes defended and two sacks. As his agent noted, Maye was a captain, was voted team MVP, and experimented with his versatility in the secondary after Jamal Adams forced his way out of town last summer.

While a resolution could be coming sooner than later, the Jets shouldn’t risk alienating yet another safety. We’ll see if Burkhardt’s critical comments move the needle one way or another.

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Marcus Maye murky on Jets future: ‘That conversation will be at the end of the year’

Jets safety Marcus Maye was not exactly committal to New York when asked about his future with the organization Thursday.

When the Jets drafted Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye in the first two rounds of the 2017 NFL draft, the idea was that the duo would be the cornerstone of New York’s secondary for a long time.

Four years later, both could be gone.

Joe Douglas shipped Adams out of town over the summer after months of drama surrounding his contract. Maye, meanwhile, could leave on his own accord in free agency this offseason. As Adam Gase said Thursday, Maye is undoubtedly a player the Jets should want to retain. However, after enduring nothing but losing throughout his tenure with New York, Maye could opt to seek greener pastures.

Maye, after being named the Jets’ MVP on Thursday, was asked about his future with the team.

“Any place that I’ve always gone, I want to be there for a long time,” Maye said, per SNY. “You want stability. Everybody wants stability. That conversation, like I said, will be at the end of the year and when that time comes I’ll deal with it more.”

The Jets can definitely provide Maye with stability. They are the only organization he has ever known. With that being said, the Florida product’s comments were not necessarily a commitment to New York. Another team can swoop in and offer Maye what he is seeking with a long-term deal once he hits the open market.

Regardless of where Maye’s mind is at right now, keeping the 27-year-old in the Big Apple should be Douglas’ top priority this offseason. The Jets are weeks away from going through a massive overhaul and a steady veteran presence like Maye is required for such a rebuild.

Maye has been one of the lone bright spots for the Jets this season. Doing what it takes to lock him up with an extension is the perfect way for Douglas to begin the next phase of his quest to get New York back to being a contender.

Marcus Maye reinforces why he should be Jets’ top free agent priority

All it took was for one play against the Seahawks for Marcus Maye to reinforce why he should be the Jets’ top free agent priority.

Marcus Maye found himself in an unenviable position early in the Jets’ 40-3 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon.

Down 7-3 in the first quarter, Maye matched up with DK Metcalf downfield, both going for a pass that would have given Seattle its second score in as many drives if caught. The massive 6-foot-4 Metcalf has terrorized defensive backs on deep balls all season, but Maye remained unphased and did what he has quietly done throughout his career with the Jets.

He made the play when New York needed it the most.

Looking like Russell Wilson’s intended target, Maye turned around, found the ball, used one hand to tip it to himself and hauled it in on his way to the ground to bring an end to the Seahawks’ scoring threat. In that moment, Maye perfectly summed up why Joe Douglas needs to do everything in his power to keep him in the Big Apple for a long time.

It might not have seemed like it in the heat of the moment, but Maye’s interception was about much more than keeping the Seahawks off the board in a meaningless game for the Jets. Maye has become the heart and soul of New York’s defense. He’s not the rah-rah type of leader Jamal Adams was, but he plays with a confidence and swagger that his teammates recognize and respect. That carries over into the locker room, where Maye is now an elder statesman on one of the most inexperienced teams in the NFL.

“What I’ve seen from Marcus Maye, really the entire season, I’ve been extremely impressed,” Adam Gase said in October, per the New York Post. “To watch him — he shows up a lot when you watch the offensive side of the ball. You see him, he’s like a cheerleader sometimes.

“You see him coming off the bench if we have any kind of positive play, cheering on the offense. He speaks up a lot, which is something that I didn’t hear a lot last year.”

Maye’s leadership will be much needed at One Jets Drive as New York dives into the next stage of its rebuild this offseason — one that will likely feature a new head coach and quarterback. The fourth-year safety’s contract is set to expire at the end of 2020, though, which means Douglas will have to move swiftly to ensure he sticks around.

The good news for Douglas in this regard is the Jets don’t have many in-house free agents worth keeping beyond this season. Breshad Perriman is probably New York’s only other impending free agent worth a new contract. That means Douglas can dedicate nearly all of his energy to putting together an enticing deal to keep Maye with the only organization he has ever known before free agency.

It would be hard to blame Maye for wanting to test the open market considering how poorly the Jets have performed throughout his career. Once Maye starts hearing from other teams, especially the ones with winning track records, it could spell the end of his time in New York.

Douglas cannot allow that to happen.

Maye is simply too important to the Jets’ future to allow him to walk out the front door without making a top-end offer. He could have rolled over going up against Metcalf. He could have gotten out of dodge to avoid getting mossed and winding up on Metcalf’s next poster.

Instead, he fought. That kind of never-say-die mindset is exactly what the Jets need moving into the future.

Marcus Maye reinforces why he should be Jets’ top free agent priority

All it took was for one play against the Seahawks for Marcus Maye to reinforce why he should be the Jets’ top free agent priority.

Marcus Maye found himself in an unenviable position early in the Jets’ 40-3 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon.

Down 7-3 in the first quarter, Maye matched up with DK Metcalf downfield, both going for a pass that would have given Seattle its second score in as many drives if caught. The massive 6-foot-4 Metcalf has terrorized defensive backs on deep balls all season, but Maye remained unphased and did what he has quietly done throughout his career with the Jets.

He made the play when New York needed it the most.

Looking like Russell Wilson’s intended target, Maye turned around, found the ball, used one hand to tip it to himself and hauled it in on his way to the ground to bring an end to the Seahawks’ scoring threat. In that moment, Maye perfectly summed up why Joe Douglas needs to do everything in his power to keep him in the Big Apple for a long time.

It might not have seemed like it in the heat of the moment, but Maye’s interception was about much more than keeping the Seahawks off the board in a meaningless game for the Jets. Maye has become the heart and soul of New York’s defense. He’s not the rah-rah type of leader Jamal Adams was, but he plays with a confidence and swagger that his teammates recognize and respect. That carries over into the locker room, where Maye is now an elder statesman on one of the most inexperienced teams in the NFL.

“What I’ve seen from Marcus Maye, really the entire season, I’ve been extremely impressed,” Adam Gase said in October, per the New York Post. “To watch him — he shows up a lot when you watch the offensive side of the ball. You see him, he’s like a cheerleader sometimes.

“You see him coming off the bench if we have any kind of positive play, cheering on the offense. He speaks up a lot, which is something that I didn’t hear a lot last year.”

Maye’s leadership will be much needed at One Jets Drive as New York dives into the next stage of its rebuild this offseason — one that will likely feature a new head coach and quarterback. The fourth-year safety’s contract is set to expire at the end of 2020, though, which means Douglas will have to move swiftly to ensure he sticks around.

The good news for Douglas in this regard is the Jets don’t have many in-house free agents worth keeping beyond this season. Breshad Perriman is probably New York’s only other impending free agent worth a new contract. That means Douglas can dedicate nearly all of his energy to putting together an enticing deal to keep Maye with the only organization he has ever known before free agency.

It would be hard to blame Maye for wanting to test the open market considering how poorly the Jets have performed throughout his career. Once Maye starts hearing from other teams, especially the ones with winning track records, it could spell the end of his time in New York.

Douglas cannot allow that to happen.

Maye is simply too important to the Jets’ future to allow him to walk out the front door without making a top-end offer. He could have rolled over going up against Metcalf. He could have gotten out of dodge to avoid getting mossed and winding up on Metcalf’s next poster.

Instead, he fought. That kind of never-say-die mindset is exactly what the Jets need moving into the future.