Lions Interested In Panthers’ Free Agent C Cade Mays

Risdon mentions that Detroit has liked Mays since he was a prospect ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, when he became a sixth-round pick by Carolina. 

Mays, 26, was a freshman All-American and All-SEC at Georgia but ended up transferring to Tennessee, where he was second-team All-SEC as a senior in 2021. The Panthers drafted him in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. 

He was entering the third year of a four-year deal worth $3,833,075 that also included a signing bonus of $173,075 when the Panthers waived him coming out of the preseason. He caught on with the Giants practice squad but was later re-signed to the Panthers’ active roster in 2024. 

Carolina re-signed him as a restricted free agent last offseason. 

In 2025, Mays appeared in 14 games for the Panthers and started 12 times at center.