The Hidden Risk Detroit Lions Signing Cade Mays Presents

The Detroit Lions have committed to Cade Mays as the team's center of the future.

On the first day of the NFL's legal tampering period, the Lions agreed to a three-year pact with the offensive lineman, reportedly worth up to $25 million in total. After releasing Graham Glasgow, the Lions have tabbed Mays as the man for the job anchoring their offensive line.

While the official distribution of Mays' money per year has not been reported as of publication, his contract has an average annual value (AAV) of $8.3 million per year. This number ranks ninth amongst all of the centers in the NFL.

Detroit elected not to pay top of the market money for Baltimore's Tyler Linderbaum, who signed a deal worth $27 million AAV over three years with the Las Vegas Raiders. Instead, they're betting on Mays to step into the void created by Frank Ragnow's retirement last offseason.

While the signing has come with some deserved applause, there is a bit of a concern surrounding Mays' overall body of work in his first four NFL seasons. For starters, the Tennesse product didn't begin his career as a center and didn't play the position in college.

Instead, Mays was a guard for the Volunteers and began his time with the Panthers in the same position. He spent most of his first three seasons as a rotational lineman before stepping in at center after starter Austin Corbett suffered an MCL injury in Week 2.

Mays finished the 2025 season with a 61.0 Pro Football Focus offensive grade, and there are metrics to suggest that he will be exactly what the Lions need up front. Top among those metrics is the fact that he didn't allow a sack in pass protection last year and finished with a 94.3 run-block win rate.

The Tennessee product is also an ideal fit for the Lions' duo run scheme, and he pointed out that he enjoys blocking that type of run the most.

However, Mays has limited experience being an everyday center in the NFL, and his first season as a Lion could come with some growing pains as the team looks to rebuild its offensive line. Mays finished last season with a 58.3 run-blocking grade.

This uncertainty of exactly how he'll perform is the inherent risk that the Lions are taking on with their investment in Mays for the next three seasons.

Ultimately, the Lions have an investement in an up-and-coming center who has a hgih ceiling. Mays still has plenty to prove, and the Lions are hoping he can do exactly that. However, there is a scenario where he's unable to keep up his hot streak from last season and is unable to help rebuild the Lions' offensive line.