Detroit Lions Waive Center, Running Back Ahead of Saints Game

The Detroit Lions have made a decision on two offensive players, ahead of the season-opener against the New Orleans Saints next week.

Center Seth McLaughlin and running back Jabari Small have both been waived, according to the team.

McLaughlin did not have the best end to his training camp, given he was competing with veteran Juice Scruggs for a starting role after Cade Mays injured his wrist.

Detroit may be looking to add another receiver to the roster, making Small the victim of the numbers game. General manager Brad Holmes expressed the team was light at the receiver spot, as only four made the initial 2026 53-man roster.

Both were dealing with ailments the final week of the preseason, so waiving them now avoided injury settlements.

What Brad Holmes thinks about 2026 offensive line

During his talk with local reporters, Holmes expressed he was excited about the offensive line unit as a whole.

"We're really excited about that group. Obviously, we’ve got a lot younger and a lot of guys had a lot of opportunities to grow that we were already excited for. So, starting with Blake (Miller), he's gotten better and better and better every single day, which is kind of what we expected. So, like where he's at, and obviously we all know that Christian Mahogany has starter-level ability, he's shown that," said Holmes. "But obviously we wanted to increase the competition there.

"I know )Ben) Bartch hasn't been out there as much, but when he was out there, he was good. He performed well, he just wasn't able to be out there as much. But, I would say last week with the practices, the scrimmage and that preseason game, he earned his spot."

Scruggs was a player the team liked and were happy was included in the deal that sent David Montgomery to the Houston Texans.

"We still had guys like Scruggs that were going to be in that spot. It's just the unfortunate injury that Cade (Mays) had that kind of forced Scruggs into that, he used to kind of be a guard-center, and kind of center only now," said Holmes. "So, that was kind of one piece of the competition, but it was good to finally see Miles Frazier out there.

"I mean, he's not a rookie, but he just didn't have a whole lot last year. So, this is kind of his first year really having an offseason, having a whole training camp," Holmes added further. "And he was able to show some things, not just at guard, but some versatility at tackle as well.”

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