Juice Scruggs Is Also Questionable, and Detroit's Offensive Line Has Run Out of Margin

Christian Mahogany's knee has been the headline, and I wrote about it Tuesday. But Juice Scruggs is also listed as questionable heading into Week 2, and with Cade Mays already out eight to ten weeks with a wrist injury, Detroit is now managing three offensive linemen on the injury report simultaneously. That is not a depth chart with a problem. That is a depth chart that has been overtaken by events.

The Lions entered this season knowing the line was thinner than it looked. Mays going down in August removed the starting center before a snap was played. Mahogany's knee added a guard to the list. Scruggs being questionable this week means the contingency plans now have their own contingency problems. Mason Miller, Ben Bartch, and Larry Borom are the names behind the starters in the grounding, and those are backup-caliber players being asked to hold a pocket for Jared Goff against defenses that will absolutely test this.

The larger concern is what this does to the running game. Jahmyr Gibbs is the highest-paid running back in NFL history after his extension this summer, and the Lions need him healthy and productive to avoid the close-game execution failures that cost them the playoffs last year. A patchwork line does not make that easier. Gibbs can create on his own, but he cannot manufacture gaps that aren't there.

Nothing here is catastrophic on its own. Questionable is not out. But the margin for further bad news is essentially zero, and Detroit has been burning through margin since August.