OCTOBER 15, 2026 | 1:24 PM ET
DETROIT LIONS—Brad Holmes traded David Montgomery to Houston in March for offensive lineman Juice Scruggs and two draft picks, acquiring a player who had struggled to establish himself as an NFL starter. Five games into the 2026 season, Scruggs is the league’s highest-graded center, and Detroit has climbed to No. 1 in the NFL’s offensive-line rankings.
Not a bad return for a player Houston considered expendable.
But Cade Mays, Detroit’s $25 million offseason acquisition, is approaching his return from a fractured wrist, potentially as early as October 25 against Green Bay. That leaves Dan Campbell with a difficult decision: restore the center Detroit originally signed to anchor its offensive line or preserve a combination producing some of the league’s best blocking performances.
For an offense averaging 32.8 points, changing the NFL’s top-ranked offensive line could introduce problems Campbell doesn’t currently have.
HOLMES’ TRADE HAS BECOME A MAJOR SUCCESS
Detroit received Scruggs, Houston’s 2026 fourth-round selection and a 2027 seventh-round pick for Montgomery, whose rushing workload had declined to 158 carries for 716 yards in 2025. Scruggs arrived after three uneven seasons in Houston, where his overall PFF grades were 47.5 in 2023, 63.5 in 2024 and 45.0 in 2025.
His transformation in Detroit has been remarkable. Through five games, Scruggs owns a 75.6 overall PFF grade, ranking first among NFL centers. Through four games, his 84.0 run-blocking grade ranked first among 33 qualifying centers, while his 68.1 pass-blocking grade ranked 11th. He had surrendered eight pressures, including two quarterback hits, but no sacks during those four games.
