When you are coming off a miserable 2-14 season like the Jets, few players should be deemed indispensable. As Branch Rickey once told Ralph Kiner nearly 70 years ago when Kiner asked for a raise, “we finished last with you; we can finish last without you.”
Modern pro sports executives have to be more nuanced when it comes to delivering hardline tactics, but Jets GM Joe Douglas should not waver from his sound team-building salary cap principles.
Safety Marcus Maye will be the best 2020 Jet to enter the free agent market in a few weeks, and there are many in the media who believe Douglas should pony up to reward Maye for his past performance.
It’s unnecessary, in my view, since Douglas has an ace up his sleeve that he should use to keep Maye in the fold: the franchise tag.
For one week, from March 2 through March 9, any NFL team can keep one of their free agents from bolting for greener pastures for one season by applying the tag. With safeties, the approximate dollar value of the commitment is $11.2 million, per overthecap.com, though it could rise when the salary cap is set in stone prior to the dawning of the new league year on March 17.
Maye made $1.36 million, with a prorated bonus of approximately $725,000, last season in the final season of his four-year rookie contract. But, in the open market, the Jets’ 2017 second-round pick could very well fetch a multi-year deal with an average annual value around $15 million, similar to what Chicago’s Eddie Jackson garnered in his extension prior to last season.
Jackson, though, placed 63rd in ProFootballFocus.com’s grading system among the 91 safeties with at least 300 snaps last season, while Maye ranked fourth, with 11 passes defended (tied for fourth-most) to go along with two interceptions and 88 tackles.
Still, Maye plays a position that doesn’t warrant premium compensation. He’s a fine player, but in no way has he been a difference-maker. If you were among those who cheered when Douglas held the line against safety Jamal Adams last offseason before trading him to Seattle, you can’t suddenly change your tune for Maye. Adams was at least a statistical outlier in the pass rush, breaking the NFL record for sacks by a safety with 9.5 last season and recording nearly twice as many pressures as his closest competitor at his position.
When former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams attempted to utilize Maye in an Adams-like role closer to the box at the start of last season, Maye followed up an excellent Week 1 in Buffalo with four consecutive duds, getting nowhere near opposing QBs and missing tackles before reverting to the comfort of his deep safety spot.
On a normal club, you’d probably have a more worthy candidate with greater impact on which you’d opt to use the franchise tag. The Jets, however, are no ordinary football team. They have so many holes to fill, they can’t just let an NFL-level starter walk away for nothing. In addition, they’re sitting with about $68 million in cap room, a figure that can grow significantly by simply making easy cuts, and have only one other free agent who is deserving of an extension: slot cornerback Brian Poole, who shouldn’t break their bank.
Spending big on outside free agents is a risky proposition, since you have to expect that other teams will be slapping tags on their own top prizes – a group including potential wide receiver targets Allen Robinson II (Chicago), Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay), and Kenny Golladay (Detroit). Even if Douglas overbids on slightly lesser talents at premium positions, as I noted last week, he should still have enough money to slide Maye’s tag value in under the cap.
So, if Maye is adamant about being paid what he’s worth – and there’s no reason for him to insist otherwise – the appropriate response from Douglas should be this: “Our franchise tag – you’re it.”
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