Marcus Maye addresses NY Jets trade rumors

Marcus Maye speaks about New York Jets trade possibilities

New York Jets safety Marcus Maye is working his way back from an ankle injury that gave him a 3-to-4 week recovery timetable following Week 3. He has returned to practice and is on track to return for the Jets’ Week 7 game against the Patriots if things progress smoothly.

On Thursday, Maye spoke to the media and was unsurprisingly faced with questions about the trade rumors that began to arise following his exit from the lineup.

Maye took the high road, stating that he wishes to stay with the Jets for the long haul and has not requested a trade.

Marcus Maye says he wants to remain with the #Jets long-term and has not talked to the team about dealing him. He has told both Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas he wants to stay here.

— Dennis Waszak Jr. (@DWAZ73) October 21, 2021

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Maye would “welcome” a trade on Oct. 13. That came slightly over two weeks after Maye’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, hinted at an upcoming trade on Twitter.

Maye also spoke about his reported DUI arrest in February 2021, which surfaced in the news during his absence.

Marcus Maye apologizes for his February DUI:

"The situation happened, definitely feel sorry for it. I'll learn from it, own everything, just got to keep going." pic.twitter.com/MASvk9kOWF

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 21, 2021

Asked if he feels any remorse, Maye answered, “Oh yeah, definitely. The situation happened, definitely feel sorry for it. I learned from it, own everything. Just got to keep going.”

Maye was set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 but received the franchise-tag treatment from the Jets. The two sides could not come to a long-term agreement over the summer, resulting in Maye playing the 2021 season on the tag. It will pay him $10.6 million this season, giving him the fifth-highest cap hit for a safety in 2021 (tying him with fellow franchise-tagged safety Marcus Williams).

The Florida product will become an unrestricted free agent once more in 2022. If the Jets wish to tag him again, the cost will be $12.7 million (120 percent of his previous salary).