Dan Campbell appears to have settled the Lions’ center situation, and it could create another decision

Detroit appears ready to hand one job back to a returning starter, but the bigger question may be what happens to the player who performed so well in his absence.

Well, that didn’t take long. The Detroit Lions have been dealing with what’s turned into a full-blown center controversy since Cade Mays returned to the lineup. Juice Scruggs has graded out as the best center in the league, per Pro Football Focus, and that left everyone asking the same thing. What are the Lions going to do at center?

On Monday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell talked with reporters and left the door open for some kind of rotation between the two. By Wednesday, that door was closed.

Dan Campbell shuts down a center rotation

Campbell went on 97.1 The Ticket and was asked directly about a possible rotation at center:

“Yeah, I don’t see us doing that. You go round and round, and all these questions come in. It’s different than a guard.

I mean, John, you know that. A guard and a center are totally different. That guy’s touching the ball, the snap count’s different, the timing, the calls, the quarterback’s comfort, just with one guy over and over.

And so I think right now the plan—Juice has done a hell of a job for us. And I’ve mentioned this before, I’m going to continue to say it. Thank goodness we got Juice, man.

He’s been outstanding for us. That being said, we really worked the heck out of Cade yesterday. He got some quality reps, and we would like to give him a go here and not make that move.

And then, obviously, Juice is starting off as swinging between center and guard, as needed at center and some guard. But yeah, we’d like to just rip this Band-Aid off of Cade. I thought he had some good work yesterday.

I thought he looked pretty good.”

So there you go. It looks like the Lions are going to put Mays right back in at center on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

It’s not a huge shocker. Detroit gave Mays a three-year, $25 million deal in free agency. He was the team’s biggest signing of the year, and Campbell clearly wants to see what he has in him.

This is the tough part. Campbell talked about Scruggs swinging between center and guard, but let’s be honest about what that means. Scruggs is going to the bench.

There’s nowhere else for him to go. Christian Mahogany is playing the best football of his career, so you can’t replace him. Tate Ratledge is playing well, too, so you can’t replace him either. Scruggs can’t play tackle. That’s the end of the list.

The good thing is the Lions now have a safety net. If Mays goes out there on Sunday and lays an egg, Campbell can just put Scruggs back in. If Mays plays well, Detroit has a very good, very capable center sitting on the bench ready to step in whenever he’s needed. That’s not a bad problem to have.

I think the phones are going to ring in Detroit. I would be shocked if a team doesn’t call trying to pry Scruggs away from the Lions. Whether they actually make a deal is a different story.

If you ask me, they shouldn’t move him unless the return is something they can’t say no to. I’m talking about a premium cornerback or a premium pick. To be clear, premium doesn’t mean a first-round pick. Nobody is giving up a first-rounder, a Pro Bowler, or an All-Pro for a backup center. But if a team offers the kind of package where you look at it and say, “We’re not going to get anything better than this if we tried,” then you have to listen.

Here’s the thing. Scruggs is a free agent after this season. After a five-game stretch where he was the highest-graded center in the league, other teams are going to be very interested in signing him. This might be Detroit’s shot to get something for him before he potentially walks.

So if somebody calls with an offer the Lions can’t refuse, I could see a move happening. Otherwise, I think they should sit pat, enjoy the depth, and figure out the rest after the season.

For now, it’s Mays’ job again. Let’s see how he handles it against Green Bay on Sunday.