Trade him for a value pick/player. It’s how the good teams do it.
Sewell (90.9) and Scruggs (75.6) both lead their positions in overall grades, and Scruggs isn’t even playing the position he was traded to play. Scruggs is leading all centers while Mays is recovering from a broken wrist. With Mays expected to return after the bye, Scruggs should move back to LG right? Maybe not, as Mahogany (86.4 overall grade) ranks third among guards, with grades of 80+ in both pass-blocking (81.6) and run-blocking (82.2).
Right guard Tate Ratledge (75.5 overall grade) has looked great in his own right, with the seventh-best pass-blocking grade (78.2) among guards. Ratledge has only given up two sacks in his career and none so far in 2026
Pass. Without a high-functioning OL, the team is doomed. Mays hasn’t even played a snap yet and we’re already trying to unload Juice? The Lions have nice starters and some depth, and I think we should keep it that way. It’s a long season, amigo.
I would rather part with future draft capital in any attempt to improve the defense.
For once, it’s a nice problem to have. Frankly, I would say see how Mays plays. If he plays well then I would probably roll the dice and trade Juice if I could get something of value back. There are some holes in the defensive backfield, if I recall.
With PFF grades above 80 for both run and pass blocking? And Hog is studding at LG and he’s doing it with one leg shorter than the other. I think that officially makes him a protected class.
The Lions schedule has been soft. I’d like to see how Scruggs does against legit competition before making any determinations, the next two games will be telling.
In any event, it’s a good problem to have so unless you can deal him for a legit starting corner (highly unlikely) then just keep the depth. Without looking at it now, is Scruggs due for a contract? They might want to sell high in that case if they can because Mays isn’t going anywhere and I don’t think they’re moving Mahogany to a backup role so it’s an interesting situation.
Edit: He’ll be an RFA for one year so I’ll be curious to see what they do with him.
I think I was too cryptic with my initial response. To be clear what I meant was that we let Scruggs and Wonnum sign elsewhere and use that towards our compensatory formula. If Wonnum ends up around 10-12 sacks with plus run defense he’ll likely be getting a big contract. That’s the comp pick we should be angling to protect. Might be tricky bc we don’t have a lot of outgoing guys provided we lock up Branch and Sam.