Last week, the conversation centered on Lions players who could sneak onto the roster. This time, the question flips the script: who enters training camp looking safe, only to lose that spot by the end?
That kind of surprise happens all the time in the NFL. A player arrives with expectations, then the fit never clicks, the competition turns up, or the preseason exposes a gap the team can’t ignore.
Detroit has seen it before, too. The clearest example from recent memory is Breshad Perriman in 2021, when the expectation was that he’d be a starting receiver during the rebuild.
Instead, the former first-round pick fell flat and was cut outright.
If you had said in March of that year that Perriman would be gone by August, it would have sounded like a reach. Training camp can change everything.
So which Lions player could be the next surprise cut? The answer here is Juice Scruggs.
That wasn’t an easy name to land on. Giovanni Manu, Dominic Lovett, and Mekhi Wingo would be disappointing cuts, but not especially shocking ones.
Trevor Nowaske and Khalil Dorsey look like strong roster bets, though both are special teams types who could still get squeezed without much drama. Skyler Gill-Howard and Tyre West also sit in that tricky middle ground, helped by Brad Holmes’ tendency not to cut rookies, but still living on the roster bubble as late-round picks.
Scruggs is the one who stands out.
Detroit brought him in through the David Montgomery trade, and his time with the Houston Texans didn’t inspire a ton of confidence. Still, the Lions clearly see something in him.
He’s working as a top backup at center and could also fill in at guard, which matters because injuries always create openings over the course of a season. He also turned heads in OTAs, and the coaches appear to believe there’s real upside there.
He wasn’t just a throw-in to the Montgomery deal.
But there’s another side to it. Scruggs is still a reserve, and his track record as a starter isn’t exactly strong.
Houston has lived with a shaky offensive line for years, so the fact that they moved on from him anyway can be read as a sign they didn’t have much faith in the former second-round pick. Detroit may like him now, but offseason praise doesn’t guarantee anything once the pads come on in preseason.
And the Lions have more interior options than you might expect. Christian Mahogany looks like the leading candidate to start at left guard, but behind him are Miles Frazier, Ben Bartch, and Scruggs.
Giovanni Manu and Colby Sorsdal could also push for a spot on the interior. At center, Scruggs has the edge for now, though the team has shown real interest in Michael Niese, who has stuck around since 2023.
Seth McLaughlin is also in the mix after more than a year removed from the Achilles tear he suffered in his final college season, the injury that kept the Rimington Trophy winner from being drafted.
Scruggs has the inside track, but the numbers around him make this a real battle. If he slips and others seize their chances, the Lions could make a move that would raise eyebrows.
It would surprise me if Scruggs were cut. It just wouldn’t be impossible.
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