RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesA former Carolina Panthers fan favorite has been dealt a huge blow before the start of the 2026 regular season.
Detroit Lions center Cade Mays, per head coach Dan Campbell, has sustained a wrist injury that will cause him to miss a " significant " amount of time. Mays, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Panthers, signed a three-year, $25 million deal to join the Lions out of free agency this past spring.
Mays, a standout at the University of Tennessee, was taken by the Panthers in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He'd go on to make seven starts over his first 27 outings through the 2023 campaign before being released in the summer of 2024.
Following a brief offseason stint with the New York Giants, Mays returned to Carolina in October of 2024. He would make eight starts over 11 games to finish out the year.
2025 saw Mays start in 13 of his 15 games, including the team's wild-card round appearance against the Los Angeles Rams .
Following Mays' departure, the Panthers signed former Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints starting center Luke Fortner to a one-year pact. They also selected Kansas State University's Sam Hecht in the fifth round of the 2026 draft.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers free agent already suffers significant blow with new team
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