The New Orleans Saints had to release safety Marcus Maye, but that doesn’t mean the free agent can’t be a valuable part of a team. While every team manipulates the salary cap to a certain extent, nobody takes it quite as far as New Orleans. Refusing to ever rebuild, the team continuously restructures deals to avoid ever having to completely start over from scratch. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of this is that it creates a lot of dead money, leaving the Saints with no choice but to cut good players on bloated salaries to get under the salary cap.
Marcus Maye was a victim of this branch of team building, as New Orleans moved on from the veteran and added him to a crowded free agent safety market. However, despite the abundance of playmakers at the position, Dianna Russini reports that the former Saint is “drawing interest” from multiple organizations and even has a visit scheduled with one team.
Former Saints safety Marcus Maye is drawing interest from several teams. He will visit with the Tennessee Titans on Monday, per source.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 14, 2024
Free Agent Marcus Maye “Drawing Interest From Several Teams,” Could Sign Soon
The Titans make perfect sense as a free agent fit for Marcus Maye. Despite their subpar finish to 2023, it’s clear that this team believes they can compete in 2024. After all, they’ve already addressed most of their major weaknesses with Lloyd Cushenberry and Calvin Ridley, and they could be in on Arik Armstead.
The one thing they haven’t done, however, is find a replacement for Kevin Byard. After dealing him to the Eagles at the 2023 trade deadline, Tennessee has yet to find a proper replacement for his role. While Marcus Maye isn’t as good as Kevin Byard was at his peak, the free agent should be able to match or even exceed his 2023 level of play.
Of course, Russini’s report mentions that several teams are pursuing Marcus Maye as a free agent. While the Titans might play hosts for his first visit, he’ll probably stop by a few other organizations as well. In no particular order, these five teams could use a player like Maye on the roster.
Other Team Fits
Buffalo Bills
After boasting an elite safety duo for the past few years, the Buffalo Bills have moved on from both Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. With Taylor Rapp set to hold down one safety position, Marcus Maye could be a good cost-effective free agent signing for the second position. Seeing as the Bills share a conference with several elite passing offenses, they’ll need as many good defensive backs as they can find.
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers have had an active offseason. While they’ve reinforced their offensive line and wide receivers, they’ve lost a few good players on defense. While Brian Burns is the biggest loss, the team also parted ways with safeties Vonn Bell and Jeremy Chinn. With Kirk Cousins in town and Baker Mayfield coming back to Tampa Bay, Carolina needs to improve their secondary to face off against offenses that can effectively throw the ball. Marcus Maye would be a smart free agent signing, especially since the two sides are so familiar with each other from sharing a division the past two years.
New York Giants
The New York Giants lost Xavier McKinney to the Green Bay Packers, and now they need to find someone to fill the position. Marcus Maye is nowhere near as good as McKinney, but the free agent is going to be a lot cheaper. All things considered, the Giants have bigger needs than safety, so it doesn’t make sense for them to spend up on one of the top-dollar options.
Baltimore Ravens
Geno Stone has found a home with the Cincinnati Bengals, which means the Ravens will need to find a new third safety. Baltimore plays three-safety defenses more than any other team in the league, so they need a free agent like Marcus Maye. Perhaps he might be out of Baltimore’s price range, but assuming he doesn’t break the bank, this could be a great fit.
Main Photo: Stephen Lew – USA Today Sports
