The Detroit Lions need to have an uncomfortable conversation about Cade Mays, Juice Scruggs and their future at center
Juice Scruggs was supposed to be a depth piece. Instead, his play and Cade Mays’ injury problems have created a difficult decision for the Lions that could extend well beyond this season.
The Detroit Lions have a center situation on their hands, and Dan Campbell’s interview on 97.1 The Ticket on Tuesday morning only made it more obvious. Juice Scruggs is playing too well to ignore, Cade Mays can’t stay healthy, and at some point the Lions have to admit they did something they didn’t mean to do. They got too good at finding centers.
Think back to how this all started. Detroit traded running back David Montgomery to the Houston Texans and got a fourth-round pick and Scruggs in return. Most of us assumed Scruggs would be a backup offensive lineman at best, maybe a backup guard. He felt like a toss-in.
Then the Lions went out and signed Mays to a three-year, $25 million deal to be their new starting center.
Cade Mays can’t get on the field
So far, things have not been great for Mays. He injured his wrist in training camp, and that cost him most of August and the first six games of the season. He didn’t come back until last week against the Packers. He played that game fairly well, though you could see some rust.
Then he played almost half of the game against the Vikings and sprained his ankle. Now Campbell says Mays won’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday, and the plan is for Scruggs to be the guy at center.
Here’s what Campbell said when asked if there was going to be some sort of competition at the center position:
“Well, I can’t say that right now. Look, Cade has got this ankle right now. What I would say is that Juice came in and played very well. That’s what I would definitely say. He took the middle reps this week. He got a couple live, but really it was more of the mental at center. And to get thrust back in there against that defense with everything they were doing and to have the production, it was impressive. He was locked in. He was so ready to go. I’ve told you this before, we love Juice and he just fits us. He’s all about business. He’s a great teammate. He’s high energy. He tries to finish plays, runs off the football. So he did a heck of a job. As of right now, he’s our guy because I don’t see Cade practicing Wednesday, and he might not Thursday. So we’re going to get Juice ready to go here.”
Juice Scruggs is the better center for Detroit
This is where I just want the Lions to come to terms with it. They found a better center for their team in that trade, and they might have spent $25 million on a backup.
I get it. Nobody wants a $25 million backup. That doesn’t feel great. But Scruggs is better for this team.
To be fair, I can’t make that ruling purely off a game and a half from Mays, and he played fairly well in that time. What I can tell you is that over the six games Scruggs has started at center — five and a half, really — this offense has moved. It has played well. It has done things right.
Scruggs has been phenomenal. Through six games, he has allowed nine pressures and one sack. He’s the third-highest-graded center in the NFL right now, and he’s doing it at a significantly cheaper rate than Mays.
Meanwhile, Mays has already dealt with two injuries. If it were me, the easy call is to say Scruggs is balling right now, so why even think about going any other way?
Something has to give this offseason
Here’s the thing. Scruggs is a free agent after this season, and he’s clearly Detroit’s better center. At a certain point, you have to start thinking about locking him up and looking at Mays as something else.
Would the Lions consider trading Mays after the season? I don’t know if that’s on the table. What I do know is that letting Scruggs potentially walk out of the building feels much worse.
Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe I’ll wind up being wrong. It doesn’t sound like Mays will be healthy in time to play against Miami on Sunday, but maybe he comes back in Germany and plays so much better. Still, at this point, Mays is behind the eight ball with another injury, and Scruggs should get to keep trucking as long as he keeps playing well.
Realistically, the Lions aren’t keeping both of these guys. Both won’t be here in 2027. Either Mays gets traded and Detroit keeps Scruggs, or Scruggs gets a huge deal to go play somewhere else.
I don’t want the season to be over, but I’m intrigued to see how this plays out. We’ll see.
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