SF 49ers: 4 trade targets on NY Jets as they hold fire sale
By Peter Panacy
SF 49ers Trade Target No. 3: Safety Marcus Maye
The SF 49ers don’t exactly need much safety help, at least so far into 2020. The current tandem of Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt has stayed mostly healthy and has been a notable factor in the team’s No. 5-ranked pass defense.
Yet there’s a reason why John Lynch might consider adding a veteran safety via the trade market. Chiefly due to Tartt, the team’s strong safety, playing amid a contract year.
It doesn’t seem likely the Niners bring Tartt back, mostly due to their current cap situation and the likelihood he’ll want to cash in on a relatively lucrative contract in 2021.
True, San Francisco has third-year pro Marcell Harris waiting in the folds. But Harris still hasn’t shown the tendency to be a full-time starter, meaning the worst the SF 49ers could do would be to prompt some competition at this position next year.
The Jets’ Marcus Maye seems like a viable option to do this.
Maye, 27 years old, is also hitting free agency in 2021. But as far as trade-and-sign candidates go, he surely would seem to be a much cheaper option over the long run than re-signing Tartt.
Plus, considering it’s often time-consuming to get young defensive backs to develop quickly, having a veteran presence stay in the backfield would be beneficial to San Francisco’s defense.