Washington Football Team: 3 early trade deadline targets for WFT

2. Marcus Maye

The safety position has been — how do we put this? — an absolute calamity for Washington this season.

Landon Collins has come back down to earth (and then some) after reports during training camp indicated he looked better than ever. Bobby McCain is more adept at calling out the media than he is offering help over the top.

Assuming one (or both) of them aren’t back next season, Washington could use a dependable playmaker in the backend of their secondary to line up alongside Kamren Curl, or Jeremy Reaves if he’s re-signed.

Marcus Maye comes to mind as a potential fit amid reports that he would welcome a trade at the deadline. The Jets didn’t sign Maye to a long-term extension this offseason, which resulted in him signing the franchise tag.

Maye is a loyal player, but he felt undervalued during negotiations, and rightly so, as second-year general manager Joe Douglas doesn’t value the safety position nearly as much as he does the offensive and defensive line.

At 28 years old, Maye is coming off the best season of his career in 2020, when he tallied 88 tackles, 11 pass breakups, two interceptions, two sacks, and two forced fumbles. He also graded out highly by Pro Football Focus, earning a 73.0 run defense grade, a 64.7 pass rush grade and a sublime 85.8 coverage grade, respectively.

A trade for Maye might not be overly realistic given that Collins’ contract is still on the books, but desperate times call for desperate measures and we’d welcome it with open arms if Washington is able to hash out the financial logistics.