The Detroit Lions are staring down a massive dilemma at center as prized offseason signing Cade Mays appears close to returning from a fractured wrist, suffered back in training camp. His replacement, Juice Scruggs, has been playing at a seriously high level, with Pro Football Focus actually grading him as the highest center in the entire league! That’s wild, even if the eye test gives you a bit of pause.
The Return of the Prized Signing: Mays vs. Scruggs
Coach Dan Campbell himself has been vocal about Scruggs’ growth over the last month, especially praising his comfort with silent counts and identifying plays on the road. So, with Mays, the Lions’ prized offseason addition, seemingly ready to make his 2026 debut after the bye, what in the world do they do? You can’t just bench a guy PFF says is the best at his position, right?
Bringing Mays back raises a ton of questions. Does he even provide an upgrade right now? Will the Lions have to worry about restarting offensive line chemistry? Plus, Campbell dropped some words that make you wonder about the timing of Mays’ activation.
“We’ve got to see exactly where he’s at,” Campbell said. “We’ve got basically two days of half practices with him and so let’s see what it looks like next week. He’s going to continue to train here and then we got to make a decision on how do we work this. That’s what’s a little unique, he plays center. It’s not like you’re rotating a guard. So how do we handle this? What’s the best way? Can he go 70 reps? So, there’s a lot of factors that go into it right now.”
That quote makes it sound like we might get another week of Scruggs, doesn’t it? Could Mays’ return be held off longer than expected? This isn’t a simple swap, and the stakes for the Lions’ offensive line are huge.
Brian Branch: The Backfield’s Urgent Answer?
While the Mays situation is a head-scratcher, the return of safety Brian Branch feels a lot more straightforward. The man has been champing at the bit to get back on the field after a torn Achilles ended his last season way back in early December. The Lions desperately need him back in the fold to shore up what has been a struggling and beat-up safety room.
Detroit’s back end has been struggling for answers, period. Things got so dire last week that they had to play fifth-round cornerback Keith Abney at safety. Amazingly, it seemed to settle things down a bit, but that’s not a long-term solution. The Lions want Branch out there ASAP, no doubt about it.
The big questions around Branch aren’t if he plays, but how he plays. Will he jump back into his familiar nickel/safety hybrid role? Or is the need so great at the deep, single-high safety spot that they just stick him there? And who ends up playing next to him? His presence is vital, and the Lions need him to make an immediate impact on a struggling unit.
As the Lions come out of their bye, both Cade Mays and Brian Branch are on the verge of making their 2026 debuts. For Branch, it’s about plugging a major hole in the secondary. For Mays, it’s about navigating a truly unique situation where a star signing returns to find his replacement playing at an elite level. This bye week has set up some massive decisions, and how they handle these two returns could define the coming weeks for Detroit.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
Leave a Reply