The Lions designated Mays (wrist) for return from injured reserve Wednesday, Richard Silva of The Detroit News reports.
The move opens a 21-day window during which Mays can be officially activated from IR before he'd have to stay there for the rest of the campaign. Once he has fully recovered from the wrist fracture he sustained during the preseason, he projects to take over the starting center job from free-agent acquisition Juice Scruggs.