Cleveland Browns should be all in on Marcus Maye

The Cleveland Browns should target safety Marcus Maye

With the secondary being the weakest part of the Cleveland Browns defense in 2020, the team needs to look towards free agency to fill those holes. With a quality secondary, the Browns go from an on-the-fence playoff team to potentially a year-in, year-out division title. One player that the Browns should be all in on is Jets safety, Marcus Maye.

Marcus Maye played at an elite level in 2020 and was the sole player on the Jets that good be classified as “good,” and he wasn’t just good, he was one of the best at his position in the league. Maye played a hybrid safety role this past season, even lining up at corner at some points. Far and away the best player on the Jets, it seems that the impending free agent and the team haven’t made much progress on contract talks.

Erik Burkhardt, Maye’s agent with Select Sports Group, responded to a tweet from NFL Insider Field Yates regarding the Jets cap space heading into free agency.

https://twitter.com/ErikBurkhardt/status/1366941735079849987?s=20

Maye played at an All-Pro level in 2020, recording 88 combined tackles, 11 pass breakups, 4 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, a pair of interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

He played every defensive down for the Jets and played on 11 percent of special teams plays. His ability to play all over the field would make him the perfect addition to this Browns secondary. Maye received four All-Pro votes this year for his contributions on the field.

With the Browns’ 2019 second-round pick, Grant Delpit, who missed the entire 2020 season with a torn Achilles, coming back from injury in 2021, and Maye in the same safety room, Joe Woods would have an absolute field day.

The addition of Maye would be a costly one, as Spotrac projects his contract to be somewhere in the realm of four years and $53.2 million or just under $13.3 million per year, which would make him the fourth highest-paid player at his position.

If the Browns were to offer him that contract, it would account for about half of the team’s available cap for this offseason which could result in Maye being the lone free agent signing of the year.