Panthers’ Mays thinks he’s a starting center in NFL. Will he be paid like one?
Cade Mays has started 20 games at center over the past two seasons for the Carolina Panthers. He’s played 1,221 total snaps in the middle of the offensive line since Week 8 of the 2024 season.
And while Mays hasn’t always been viewed as the permanent starter, the 2022 sixth-round pick from Tennessee thinks he’s shown that he’s a starting-caliber center in the NFL as he gets ready to test unrestricted free agency in March.
“Absolutely — without a question,” Mays told The Charlotte Observer on Sunday.
The Panthers are expected to have one of the highest offensive line payrolls in the NFL in 2026, even without Mays under contract.
The offensive line is currently on the books for a projected $86.6 million tab, according to Over The Cap, and that total doesn’t include potential news deals for Mays and longtime line contributors like Austin Corbett, Yosh Nijman and Brady Christensen, who are also set to test the market this offseason.
With all that cash already locked into the line, the Panthers might prefer to pass on signing their incumbent free agents to big, long-term deals. While Mays is set to turn 27 in April, the front office could look to add some younger, cheaper talent in his place to balance out the books.
Mays is leaning on his faith as he prepares for what could be the most important offseason of his career.
“I’m just taking it a day at a time,” Mays said. “Letting my agent handle that side of things. I’ve done what I can do through these last 18 or so weeks — so just letting him handle that. God’s got a plan, you know, and I’m just going to follow. It’ll all shake out how it’s supposed to.”
‘I never knew what was going to happen’
Mays was part of the final draft class of the Matt Rhule era. Despite being an offensive tackle in college, Mays spent most of his rookie season playing on special teams. His most notable role as a rookie on offense was at fullback when interim coach Steve Wilks took over midway through the season.
Mays primary served as a backup guard during his sophomore year under then-head coach Frank Reich in 2023. Like with Rhule and Wilks, Mays played for Reich and later interim coach Chris Tabor during his second season in the NFL.
Mays made the initial 53-man roster under Dave Canales in 2024. However, he was released the day after the cut deadline for one of the team’s handful of waiver claims. After becoming a free agent, Mays took a trip up north to join the New York Giants practice squad.
But the Panthers dealt with plethora of injuries as the 2024 season rolled along, and Mays was signed back to the Carolina’s 53-man roster to fill in for an injured Corbett in the middle of the year.
Mays, who never played center before 2024, started eight games in the middle to end the year. The Panthers gave Mays a restricted tender this past offseason, and the lineman eventually returned on the one-year deal. After summer-long competition, though, the Panthers went with Corbett over Mays at the center spot.
“I never knew what was going to happen,” Mays said. “But I’ve shown up every day, trusted that the good Lord has got me. And obviously, you never know how his plan is going to go — there’s turns and dips and swirls — you just keep showing up, and he’s going to take you where you need to go.”
In Week 2, Corbett sustained a knee injury that forced him onto injured reserve. And Mays replaced him in the lineup for 12 of the final 15 games; he missed three outings due to injuries of his own.
Mays, who played his college ball at Georgia and Tennessee, feels like he’s grown a lot since making the move to center.
“I think just seeing the game as a whole,” Mays said. “Being able to process what’s going on, what defenses are trying to do, and I feel like I’ve just improved my game as a whole. I was a tackle and guard in college, and learning the center position and stuff, it was a big learning curve. I feel like I’ve taken it and ran with it.”
Pride in the present, hope for the future
The Panthers were 6-6 with Mays starting at center in 2025. Carolina ultimately finished the season with an 8-9 record and its first division crown since 2015.
The 6-foot-6, 326-pound lineman has seen some of the worst times in franchise history during his four-year tenure. But this season with the team has led to a lot of pride in the present and hope for the future.
“It’s super special,” Mays said. “It’s been a lot of lows and a lot of highs. And obviously, finishing this year on a high, being able to be division champs, and going to the playoffs and coming up short. But I’m super proud of this team, super proud of how everybody has handled it, and super proud to be a small part of it.”
As Mays gets ready to test the market, he’ll look to be rewarded for his past production and showcased versatility.
He’s played left guard, right guard and center. And Mays thinks he’s found an NFL home in the middle of the trenches.
Mays will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, and he’s leaned on his veteran teammates for advice. Rob Hunt, who signed a five-year, $100 million deal in 2024, has been a sounding board for the ascending lineman.
“I talked to him a little bit,” Hunt said. “He came up to me with questions sometimes, and I said what it is. I think it’s a thing that you can’t really — like I wouldn’t get too into it. Just let it be what it is, and then whatever happens after that happens. No matter what, I think that Cade’s a hell of a player. I think that Cade will get what he deserves, no matter what it is.”
“Unfortunately, we all know it’s a business, so I hope he’s here, I want him to be here,” Hunt said. “They’ll handle it however they want to handle it, but, you know, Cade and I have had some talks.”
Mays is entering his prime. He’s also only played the center position for two years, so there’s probably more upside to explore as well.
But the Panthers have a lot of money tied into Hunt, left guard Damien Lewis and right tackle Taylor Moton over the next few years. Left tackle Ickey Ekwonu, who faces an uncertain 2026 with ruptured patellar tendon, is only signed through next season. So, Carolina might be in a bind when it comes to Mays’ potential contract cost.
But if both sides can find the right fit financially, Mays returning to the line would only fortify what the Panthers have built there over the past two years.
And he’d be right in the middle of it all.
