The Miami Dolphins are making a notable change to their roster, having waived veteran safety Marcus Maye on November 26, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He reported, “Source: The Dolphins are waiving veteran safety Marcus Maye.” Pelissero added that “Maye appeared in 11 games for Miami with three starts. They’d like to re-sign him to the practice squad if he clears.”
Despite starting just three games this season, Maye has a total of 80 starts in his NFL career, having previously played five seasons with the New York Jets and two with the New Orleans Saints. In his time with Miami, Maye recorded 30 combined tackles, including one tackle for loss and one pass defense, while participating in 293 defensive snaps.
The decision to release Maye, while a shakeup, isn’t wholly unexpected. He started three out of four games from Weeks 5-9 but did not play a single defensive snap in his last three games with the team. This season, the Dolphins have a record of 1-3 when Maye plays at least 74% of the defensive snaps, compared to 4-3 when he plays fewer. Interestingly, they went 4-0 when he was on the field for three snaps or fewer.
Other factors, such as Tua Tagovailoa’s health, certainly influenced these records, but Maye did not seem to contribute positively to Miami’s defensive efforts. In his last start against the Buffalo Bills on November 3, Maye had six combined tackles, including one tackle for loss, while playing 66 snaps.
Over the past three weeks, Maye has participated solely in special teams, averaging 14 special teams snaps during that stretch. His best season statistically was in 2020, when he notched 88 combined tackles, including four tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, two sacks, two interceptions, and 11 pass defenses.
Prior to joining the Dolphins, Maye had never been inactive for a game he was active for in his NFL career, but this season he did not start in eight games while in Miami.
According to Pelissero, the Dolphins hope to bring Maye back to their practice squad. The Dolphins’ decision to waive him also creates a roster opening for rookie safety Patrick McMorris, who the team intended to activate from injured reserve. David Furones from the Sun Sentinel reported on X that the Dolphins’ plan was confirmed: “Those are indeed the two moves at safety, according to league source: Patrick McMorris to be activated off IR; Marcus Maye waived.”
Drafted by the Dolphins at No. 198 overall in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, McMorris has yet to play in a regular-season game after being placed on injured reserve. Last season at Cal, he accumulated 90 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, eight pass defenses, one sack, and one interception.
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