The relationship between the New York Jets and safety Marcus Maye was in a bad place last year.
Apparently, those issues haven’t been resolved after Maye seemingly took a shot at the team after he signed a stunning $28.5 million contract to join the New Orleans Saints in free agency.
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Big Yikes
Maye during his introductory press conference was asked what were the most important factors he was considering as he chose a new team in free agency and he didn’t hold back.
“[Winning] was probably the main thing, you know it is all about wins and losses. At the end of the day, what else are you doing it for? Especially coming from the past five seasons where winning wasn’t very likely for me and things like that, tough situations. Having this opportunity to join this organization, a winning organization for a long time, I’m excited to be a part of it and I’m excited to get more wins with these guys.”
Maye wasn’t kidding, he originally entered the league as the No. 39 overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.
He was with the team through his four-year rookie contract and an additional franchise tag season after that. All in all, the former Florida Gator played five seasons with the Jets and the overall record during that time span was 22-59.
They are currently the leader in the NFL’s longest active playoff drought which is 11 seasons and counting.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh took a not so subtle shot at Marcus Maye’s agent (@ErikBurkhardt) during his presser, ‘the message is ignore the noise, you can’t control what people say, you can’t control what people make up, you can’t control what agents tweet’: 👀 #NYJvsNE #TakeFlight
However, the rift between Maye and the Jets goes far beyond wins-losses.
There was an awkward contract spat that was on full display in the court of public opinion. We later found out that Maye had kept a DUI hidden from the team until it was covered by ESPN which forced him to meet with the Jets brass. Then complicating matters even further was Maye tearing his Achilles in the middle of the season putting his immediate football future in jeopardy.
Now both sides have clearly moved on and the Jets have some major holes to fill on the backend of their defense.
Future at Safety
That means the Jets will have at least one new opening day starter at safety, if not two.
With Maye out of the fold, the Jets decided to sign Jordan Whitehead away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Early on in the free agency process, they announced that they had re-signed veteran Lamarcus Joyner.
He played all of nine snaps in the 2021 season opener versus the Carolina Panthers before tearing his triceps and being ruled out for the season. Now he will have his chance at redemption this offseason with a clear path to a starting gig.
The bulk of free agency is over and the remaining moves will be mostly depth pieces. However, the last remaining piece to the puzzle is the 2022 NFL draft.
There is only one safety that is worthy and that is Kyle Hamilton out of Notre Dame. Now whether or not the Jets brass are froggy enough to pull the trigger is a different story for a different day.
The other safeties currently on the roster include:
- Jason Pinnock
- Javin White (listed as a defensive back)
- Ashtyn Davis
- Zane Lewis
- Jovante Moffatt
- Kai Nacua
- Will Parks
- Elijah Riley
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Ex-Jets $28.5 Million Defender Takes Shot at Team After Leaving