Source: Saints to cut Maye as part of cap moves

INDIANAPOLIS — The New Orleans Saints are planning to release safety Marcus Maye, according to a source.

The move comes less than two years after Maye signed a three-year, $28.5 million contract with the Saints during the 2022 free agency period. Maye was one of the first major signings of the Dennis Allen tenure. He and Tyrann Mathieu, who signed later in the 2022 offseason, were considered replacements for the retiring Malcolm Jenkins and for Marcus Williams, who signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

Maye’s pending release is one of a series of moves the Saints have made in the offseason to get cap compliant by the start of the 2024 league year. Those moves included restructures to quarterback Derek Carr and defensive end Cameron Jordan, along with a number of other restructures on the roster.

Maye, 30, was set to count $9.6 million against the 2024 salary cap and was due $7 million in base salary this year. Releasing him will save the Saints only $1.1 million against the salary cap due to a contract restructure last year.

He played in only 17 games for the Saints and missed the final six games of the 2023 season. Maye was suspended the first three games of the 2023 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

The suspension was handed down a month after he reached a plea deal related to a 2021 driving under the influence charge that occurred when he was playing for the New York Jets. Maye initially entered a not guilty plea for the incident but changed it to a no-contest plea.

Maye was also arrested on Sept. 1, 2022, on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm after an alleged road rage incident in Metairie. The district attorney’s office refused charges against Maye last March due to lack of evidence.

Maye, a second-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, began his career with the Jets, spending five seasons with them.