Allen Park — The Detroit Lions’ biggest investment during the 2026 offseason is set to miss significant time this season.
Lions coach Dan Campbell on Monday announced that center Cade Mays, who inked a three-year deal in free agency with Detroit in March, suffered a wrist injury in Sunday’s practice and is set to miss a “significant” amount of time.
Campbell was reluctant to put a hard timetable on the injury but said that he expects Mays to be ready for the playoffs, which doesn’t bode well for his chances of helping the Lions rebuild their offensive line play during the regular season.
“He will be back for the season at some point, but it’ll be down the road,” Campbell said.
Added Campbell: “He’ll be ready for the playoffs. I do feel pretty good about that.”
While Campbell’s vagueness around the timetable had many thinking the worst about Mays’ ability to return to the field in a timely fashion, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the injury “will keep him out roughly 8-10 weeks.” While unofficial, that timeline would put him back on the field sometime between Weeks 4 and 6 — a much better outlook than simply hoping he can return before the end of Week 18. Detroit has a bye in Week 6 and faces the Green Bay Packers in their return to the field in Week 7 (Oct. 25).
After the offensive line suffered significant regression during the 2025 season in the wake of Frank Ragnow’s sudden retirement, the Lions made adding a top-flight center their No. 1 priority entering the 2026 offseason. Mays was the only player Detroit signed in free agency to a multi-year deal; he signed for three years, $25 million.
“I hate it for him because I felt like he was having a good camp and he had grown so much in our system just in the spring,” Campbell said.
There are a number of players who could potentially step into the role, including veteran Juice Scruggs, who has missed the last few days at practice with a soft-tissue injury, and guard Tate Ratledge, who briefly took reps at center during his rookie training camp and offseason program. Down-the-roster reserve options include Seth McLaughlin and Michael Niese.
“There’s a reason why we have Juice here, too, and some of these other guys. They’re going to get a look,” Campbell said. “You brought up McLaughlin, he’s going to get an opportunity, and that’s the best way to find out about some of these guys. That’s all you can ask for, it’s like, ‘Man, it’s your shot. Let’s see where we can go with it.'”
Campbell said his goal is to find the “best five” offensive linemen and put them on the field together, which might not happen right away.
“We’re trying to find that before (the season) starts, but look, if this goes into the season, it does,” Campbell said. “At some point, we will find the best five and where they belong, and they’ll be ready.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Cade Mays, Lions center, set to miss ‘significant’ time with injury
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
