The Detroit Lions have a Cade Mays Dilema...
Not too deep into the 2025 season, both the Detroit Lions and the Lions fanbase realized there was a significant problem at Center for the team after the sudden retirement of Frank Ragnow. The handpicked stopgap, Graham Glasgow, wasn't playing well and ultimately ended up getting hurt. This led to 2025 essentially being a rotation of players at the position that led to communication issues, guys in Goff's face constantly and poor overall play on the OL.
The signing of Cade Mays during the 2026 Free Agency period was supposed to help correct that, and while he wasn't the "best" Center on the market, he was the best fit for what the Lions like to do with their running game. So, with three years and $25M in hand, Mays was expected to come in and stabilize the IOL and help get the Lions OL back on a path to where they were in 2024 when Ragnow was still on the team. Things appeared on the right track right up to the point where Mays went down with a broken wrist in training camp, leading to the entire Lions fanbase holding their breath that it wasn't season ending. The semi-good news came that it would require an IR stint, but he would be back within 8-10 weeks, putting him on track for the Week 7 showdown with the Green Bay Packers.
As expected, Mays 21-day window opened last week, and he is on track to be activated off the reserve list and put on the main roster prior to Green Bay, leading to this unexpected dilema of where does he play and who does he replace? Since he went out, Juice Scruggs, who was a sweetener in the David Montgomery trade, has played like one of the best Centers in the NFL, leading all NFL Centers in PFF grade (75.6).
So, what do the Lions do with Mays? Do they replace one of the best centers in the NFL with a guy coming off a broken wrist? Do they put May at one of the starting Guard spots where Christian Mahogany (2nd of 58 Guards per PFF) and Tate Ratledge (12th of 58 Guards per PFF) are ranked near the top of the charts and disrupt the Lions OL, which is currently ranked #1 overall by PFF and coming off back-to-back Ol of the Week awards? Furthering that question, who do the Lions cut to make room for Mays on the active roster?
Only the Lions know the answers to who they will introduce Mays into the lineup, but I suspect that they will activate him prior to Green Bay, not start him so as not disrupt the continuity of the OL and maybe get him a series or two depending on how the game is flowing. It is likely there will be injuries or possibly poor play at the IOL, and that is when Mays will find his way into the starting lineup. As for who is waived to make room, all signs indicate that OC Seth McLaughlin will be the odd man out on the roster when Mays is activated (unless Bartch is put on IR) with the intent to bring him back to the Practice Squad.
Regardless of what happens, the Lions have a good problem on their hands with better depth and injury coverage across the IOL where they won't need to relay on guys like Trystan Colon, Kingsley Eguakun, Kayode Awosika and Chris Hubbard.
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