Center Cade Mays, who was signed to anchor the Detroit Lions’ reworked offensive line, will be out for significant time because of a wrist injury, coach Dan Campbell said Monday.
“You hate it, I hate it for him because I felt like he was having a good camp and he’d grown so much in our system just since spring,” Campbell said.
He would not give a timeline on Mays’ return from what he described as a freak injury that happened at camp Sunday.
Cade Mays joined the Lions this offseason after playing for the Panthers for the first four years of his NFL career. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“It stinks, but I know he’ll work his way back and be ready to go at some point,” quarterback Jared Goff said.
Mays’ absence will give Seth McLaughlin and Juice Scruggs the opportunity to compete for the start at center. Scruggs was sidelined with a soft tissue injury on Monday, so McLaughlin got all the snaps with the starters while Michael Niese worked with the No. 2s.
Goff said communication was good with McLaughlin even though he had never had a snap from him before Monday.
“That’s the best way to find out on some of these guys, that’s all you can ask for. Man, it’s your shot, we’ll see where we can go with it,” Campbell said.
McLaughlin will start in the Lions’ preseason game at Cincinnati on Thursday.
“It’s the hand you’re dealt and you move on,’’ Campbell said.
Lions sign backup QB Josh Dobbs
Veteran Josh Dobbs was signed to replace quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, whose retirement was announced Sunday. It’s the second stint in Detroit for Dobbs, who spent two weeks on the practice squad in 2022.
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“We really liked him and then he got poached, that’s kind of where it went,” Campbell said. “It’s good to get him back.”
Dobbs was on the field for Monday’s practice but did not take any reps. Rookie QB Luke Altmyer will start Thursday night. If Dobbs is up to speed, he could see action.
A fourth-round draft pick out of Tennessee by the Steelers in 2017, Dobbs has made 27 career appearances and 15 starts. He spent last season with the Patriots as Drake Maye’s backup. He appeared in four games and completed 7 of 10 passes for 65 yards.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
