NFL: Saints’ Marcus Maye suspended three games over substance abuse

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New Orleans Saints safety Marcus Maye has received a three-game suspension without pay for breaking the NFL’s substance abuse policy. It starts from this Sunday’s game against Green Bay until the Saints’ Week 5 match against New England on October 8.

Maye’s penalty relates to his 2021 arrest in Florida, where he was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, which led to a car accident in Fort Lauderdale. At that time, he was part of the New York Jets. He joined the Saints as a free agent in the 2022 offseason.

Last month, Maye accepted a no-contest plea and received a six-month probation.

In the first two games of this season, Maye made 13 tackles, ranking third among Saints defensive players. He intercepted Ryan Tannehill in the 16-15 season-opener victory over the Tennessee Titans and sacked Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers in a 20-17 Monday night win in Carolina.

Fellow safety teammate Tyrann Mathieu commended Maye’s performance this season, saying, “He’s been playing outstanding.”

Mathieu explained that Maye’s attitude and strong tackling skills are valuable for the team. He pointed out that the team expected to miss his contributions.

Since Maye’s case was over two years old, the Saints had anticipated the potential for a suspension, as explained by coach Dennis Allen.

“Obviously missing a player of Marcus Maye’s stature is a blow to us but yet we feel good about the guys we have backing him up,” Allen said. “We knew that this was certainly a possibility as we got into the season.”

For Maye’s replacement, Allen said the candidates would include rookie Jordan Howden, special teams stalwart J.T. Gray, Ugo Amadi and Lonnie Johnson.

“We’ll have a plan in place for making sure we’re good in that spot,” Allen said. “All throughout training camp, we felt like the secondary was a position of strength.”

Regarding Howden, a fifth-round draft pick from Minnesota, he has seen more rotation in safety snaps compared to other reserves.

Allen described Howden as a “good young player.” He highlighted his intelligence and ability to be in the right positions. He also mentioned that the team had confidence in him.

“He’s smart. He’s in the right spots, made some plays on the ball in training camp and we feel good about that player,” Allen said.