Who is interested in Marcus Maye?
We aren’t far away from free agency starting in the NFL and when it does odds are that the Dallas Cowboys will watch it all happening from very far away. The brain-trust headed by Stephen Jones is opposed to spending big on talent and chooses to instead believe that great teams are built through the NFL Draft (you can do both!). It isn’t as if the Cowboys completely hate free agency, they just prefer to do their shopping among what they believe to be value buys.
One spot where the team has sort of leaned into the meme has been at safety (Dallas also chooses not to address this in the draft either for what it’s worth). If you are holding out hope that somehow, some way, the Cowboys will be interested in say Jessie Bates III then think again, my friend.
But it is possible that they do bring in a safety of some kind.
PFF predicts the Dallas Cowboys will sign Marcus Maye to a one-year deal
After the initial dust of free agency settles the Cowboys will likely dip their toes in and when they do they will be looking for a team-friendly deal of sorts. They have a safety issue in general to address with Jayron Kearse, but last year we saw them bring in a handful of players at the position.
One of the players that Dallas could have an eye on in this capacity is New York Jets safety Marcus Maye. PFF predicted that Dallas would sign him to a one-year deal.
S MARCUS MAYE, NEW YORK JETS
Prediction: Dallas Cowboys – One year, $6 million ($4.5 million guaranteed)
Maye has always graded well, but 2021 was a down year for him. Primarily a free safety when Jamal Adams was on the team, Maye transitioned to more of a box safety role once Adams left, though he still played snaps on the back end. After receiving the franchise tag last offseason and underperforming, he may have to agree to a shorter deal, especially given that he will be 28 years old when next season starts.
The Cowboys need a free safety, and Maye can be the centerfielder in Dan Quinn’s scheme. Quinn also likes to play single-high-safety concepts (second-most single-high-safety snaps in the regular season), so May would be a great fit.
It isn’t as if the Cowboys are going to really invest at safety and $6M on a veteran journeyman is sort of their wheelhouse.
The Jets took Maye in the second round back in 2017, and other than 2018 and 2021, he has played every game in the regular season. Much of their interest in the position will revolve around what else happens in free agency.