Well Hell, Here We Go Again
Cade Mays fractured a small bone in his wrist over the weekend at Allen Park. He’s out 8-10 weeks. Dan Campbell called it significant, which in Campbell speak means it’s bad but we’re not panicking yet. The timeline puts Mays returning sometime in October if all goes well.
So the new starting center, the guy Brad Holmes brought in to stabilize the position after last year’s mess, is already gone before the season starts.
Cool. That’s fine. Everything is fine.
The Injury Bug Is Already Here
Mays joins a growing list of offensive linemen who’ve gone down at training camps across the league in the last two weeks. Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil and Saints center Dillon Radunz are among them. It happens. But when you were 31st in adjusted games lost to injury in 2025, you start to feel a little snakebitten. Not cursed. Just cosmically annoyed.
The Lions needed the offensive line to stay healthy this summer. They needed continuity up front after the chaos of last year. Instead they’re shuffling the deck at center before the preseason even gets rolling.
Seth McLaughlin’s Moment
Here’s the silver lining, if you want to call it that. Seth McLaughlin is getting first team reps at practice. McLaughlin won the Rimington Trophy at Ohio State as college football’s best center. That was two years ago. He’s been waiting for a shot like this.
Now he’s got one.
Campbell mentioned several options at the position. Juice Scruggs is dealing with a soft tissue injury, so he’s out for a few more days. Michael Niese has repped there before. Tate Ratledge is going to take some snaps in drills just in case, but Campbell made it clear that’s not the plan for team reps.
Translation: Ratledge is insurance, not the answer.
Scruggs Makes the Most Sense
When Scruggs gets healthy, this becomes his job to lose. He was a center at Penn State. He was on the Rimington watch list. He’s done it in the NFL. He’s been prepping at center for the Lions over the last two weeks. This is exactly why Holmes brought him in.
But right now he’s not on the field. McLaughlin is. And McLaughlin is going to play nearly the entire preseason game against the Bengals on Thursday because there’s no one else.
That’s a hell of an opportunity for a guy who hasn’t gotten much of a look yet.
Better Prepared Than Last Year
Here’s the thing. This isn’t ideal. Losing your starting center before the season starts is never part of the plan. But the Lions are better prepared for this now than they were last year. They have actual depth at center this time. They have guys who’ve played the position at a high level.
It’s not great. But it’s also not the disaster it could’ve been.
Campbell said it himself: it’s the hand you’re dealt, you move on. And yeah, that’s what this team does now. They don’t spiral. They adjust. They figure it out.
Even if the adjustment scares you a little bit.
Is Seth McLaughlin about to prove he should’ve been starting all along or are we about to miss Cade Mays more than we thought? Drop your take below.
Honestly this is kind of perfect timing for McLaughlin to show what he’s got. The guy won the Rimington Trophy for a reason, and now he gets meaningful reps with the first team before the season even starts. Campbell and Holmes aren’t gonna panic, they’ll evaluate what they see and make the right call. I’m actually feeling good about this.
I want to believe the depth is there this time, but man losing your starting center to a fracture before week one still stings no matter how you spin it. McLaughlin better prove he’s ready because if we’re fumbling around at center again this year I’m gonna lose it.
You know back in the day we would’ve just completely panicked and made some desperate trade or something stupid. At least now with Campbell running things we got actual guys waiting in the wings at the position. That’s the difference between then and now.
McLaughlin getting the preseason to prove himself is exactly what needed to happen here. Rimington Trophy winner doesn’t forget how to play center just because he’s been sitting. This could actually work out better than Mays starting if Seth balls out.