Will Marcus Maye get a long-term deal ahead of the July 15th deadline?

The Jets will run their mandatory minicamp from Tuesday to Thursday this week and safety Marcus Maye - who was absent from the voluntary OTA's - is expected to be there.

There's just over a month left for Jets and Maye - who was signed his franchise tag back in March - to finalize a long-term deal. This opens up the possibility that the team will make a bid to get a deal done soon...or maybe they're just waiting until he's in-house so they can announce a deal that's already been agreed to.

Franchised players are still eligible to sign a long-term contract up to July 15th and it often goes right up to the last minute. Last season, Chris Jones signed a four-year extension with the Chiefs on the day before the deadline and Titans running back Derrick Henry also signed a four-year deal on deadline day.

The Jets and Maye have expressed a mutual desire to come to a long term agreement. However, the team may not share Maye and his agent's view on what he's worth. Maye had a great season in 2020 but he's never had more than two interceptions in a season and has just 2.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in four seasons, so they'll need more impact plays from him to justify a big-money deal.

Maye has, at least, allayed any durability concerns by starting all 32 games over the past two seasons. He had missed 10 games with a few injury issues in 2018.

Should they fail to come to an agreement, Maye will play the 2021 season on the tag, earning just over $11 million. He'd then again be a free agent at the end of the year, at which point the Jets could again try to sign him long term, let him walk or franchise him again for around $13.5 million.

If the Jets can agree to a long-term deal for the 28-year old before the deadline, it's likely his year one cap number will be reduced. However, they seem more likely to roll over rather than spend any additional cap space at this time. They might even structure the deal with a higher cap hit to reduce the burden in future seasons.

His age is likely a factor in the negotiations because the Jets may be reluctant to pay Maye big money into his thirties. In comparison, Chris Godwin - who was franchised by the Bucs - is only 25, so they could sign him to a longer deal with far less concern that he might break down towards the end of the contract.

The Jets will also be paying attention to the other nine franchised players around the league, including the likes of Godwin, Allen Robinson and Brandon Scherff. If any disputes lead to these players becoming disgruntled, they could become available on the trade market. Also, if these players end up playing out the 2021 season on the tag, they could be potential free agent targets next year.

We'll update you when anything gets confirmed or announced.