The offseason for the Lions revolved around upgrading at center. They handled it by giving a three-year, $25 million deal to Cade Mays, who would stabilize the offensive line from the inside out.
The plan has been thrown off its axis.
"Cade Mays had a wrist injury. He will be out for a significant period of time," Dan Campbell announced Monday morning before practice. "He will be back for the season at some point, but it will be down the road."
The injury happened with Mays in pass protection, said Campbell, where a rushing defensive linemen "made an arm-over move and chopped at it. It’s one of those freak things."
"You hate it," said Campbell. "I hate it for him because I felt like he was having a good camp and he'd grown so much in our system, just since the spring. And (I hate it) for us, too."
Campbell couldn't offer a firm timeline on Mays' recovery but said with a smile, "He'll be ready for the playoffs. I do feel good about that." NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Monday that Mays "fractured a small bone in his wrist " and will be out for "roughly 8-10 weeks." That would put him on track to return sometime in the middle of the season.
So, who steps in? It will be a competition going forward primarily between veteran Juice Scruggs and second-year pro Seth McLaughlin.
"Those are the guys, that’s why they’re here," Campbell said.
Scruggs, acquired from the Texans in the David Montgomery trade, is a natural center who's played most of his snaps in three NFL seasons at guard. He's sidelined at the moment with a minor soft-tissue injury, but is slated to return to practice soon. Brad Holmes said this offseason that the inclusion of Scruggs in the Montgomery trade is what "put it over the top" for the Lions.
"There were other teams that were willing to entertain similar kind of packages, but for where we were as a team, especially from an offensive line standpoint, to add a player like Scruggs who we did a lot of work on in the draft process -- his center ability, actually, was really impressive since he's gotten to the NFL and then able to play both guard spots -- when we got Scruggs in the package, I was like, it was a done deal."
Juice, said Holmes, "does have juice."
"His makeup and all the intangible qualities that he possesses, we were all blown away by that coming out of the draft process," he said. "So just to see actual tangible evidence of him starting both guard spots, starting center, and actually holding his own at all three, it was impressive."
McLaughlin was signed this offseason to a reverse/futures deal after spending his rookie season on the Bengals' practice squad. He was an accomplished player in college at Alabama and then Ohio State, winning the Rimington Trophy in 2024 as the best center in the nation while helping Ohio State win the national championship.
McLauglin tore his Achilles late that season and didn't get drafted, but was considered one of the top undrafted free agents when he signed with the Bengals. ESPN, in fact, ranked him as the No. 2 center going into the draft and the best available player coming out of it.
With Scruggs sidelined, McLaughlin will get the first crack at the starting center reps.
"McLaughlin is gonna get looks, obviously," said Campbell. "He’ll probably run mostly with the 1’s today."
Reverse offensive lineman Michael Niese and starting right guard Tate Ratledge will also mix in at center, said Campbell. Niese has taken snaps at center for the Lions each of the last two seasons. Ratledge opened camp last year at center before the Lions quickly moved him back to his natural position of guard, where he's much more comfortable.
"We gotta get him back up to speed with doing a little snapping, just in case," said Campbell. "So, we've got options. Listen, it’s the hand you’re dealt and you move on."
Meanwhile, the competition at left guard should heat up as veteran Ben Bartch increases his workload in practice, with Miles Frazier also repping at both guard spots and both tackle spots. Left guard remains Christian Mahogany's job to lose.
"Look, we're going to find the best five," said Campbell. "We will find the best five. And we're trying to find that before (the season) starts, but, look, if this goes into the season, it does. But at some point, we will find the best five and where they belong, and they'll be ready."
