If there's one thing the Detroit Lions did not need after an offseason that can be generously described as chaotic, it was another offensive line question. Thanks to Cade Mays, that fear has been realized.
Mays, who left the Carolina Panthers and signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Lions in free agency, suffered a wrist injury that head coach Dan Campbell believes will cost him a "significant" amount of time. Ian Rapoport confirmed that Mays is expected to miss 8-10 weeks.
Thanks to one injury, the Lions' rebuild Taylor Decker-less offensive line went from fairly robust to a serious issue. If Mays misses most of the season, and the Lions have to start one of the two players fighting for snaps behind him during that time, the offense could suffer from the lack of continuity up front.
Lions center Cade Mays out for "significant" time with wrist injury
Mays graded out as the 24th-best center out of 40 qualified players at the position and 13th-best as a pass blocker. While he was not meant to be Jim Otto on the interior, getting a proven starting-level lineman for a little bit more than $8 million per season appears to be marvelous value for Brad Holmes and this Lions team.
Adding Mays was the final piece in an offensive line that looks completely different from the familiar unit that helped this team get to an NFC Championship game. Penei Sewell is moving from right tackle to left tackle, rookie Blake Miller is in line to replace him, and Christian Mahogany is the left guard who will line up next to whoever replaces Mays.
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The most likely candidates to fill in for Mays are undrafted free agent Seth McLaughlin or former Houston Texans interior lineman Juice Scruggs, whom they acquired in the David Montgomery trade. However, with Scruggs also nursing an injury, it seems like the Lions are nowhere close to naming a starter under center.
Frank Ragnow retiring early, Decker's release, and constant upheaval at left guard have helped that side of the Lions' offensive line consistently weigh down the offense as a whole. Even with Tate Ratledge looking great, Sewell making the switch, and rookie Miller at right tackle, the interior of the line remains a question mark after Mays' injury.
Mays, who was often banged up when he was in Carolina, isn't getting started off on the right foot in Detroit.
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