Pride of Detroit
Reflecting on an offseason’s worth of quotes reveals the Lions were prepared for the possibility of Frank Ragnow retiring.
When All-Pro center Frank Ragnow announced his retirement, many fans and football analysts were caught off guard—but were the Detroit Lions?
Some will point to the timing of Ragnow’s retirement on Monday, noting that it occurred after free agency and the draft, and argue that he did the Lions a disservice by not allowing them time to prepare for his departure. However, when you reflect on the offseason and reconsider the messages from the team—both in the media and through their actions, i.e., drafting two interior offensive linemen—it appears that the Lions were aware of this possibility and were making plans to keep the team operating at a high level.
Let’s examine some quotes and decisions the Lions made this offseason to see if we can gain some clarity.
Reflecting back to late March at the owners meetings, Lions coach Dan Campbell was asked about Graham Glasgow's play at guard and his future with the organization. Here are a few highlights from what he said (Editor’s note: the author made all bolding emphasis throughout this article):
“But Graham’s somebody that we still value because he’s got versatility ... he can also play center. I think people forget that some. Man, he can do an excellent job at center, as a matter of fact ... we have confidence in him. And there again, the fact that you know he can play all the positions, man, that lets you breathe easy.”
At the time, Campbell's response was somewhat confusing, as most questions surrounding Glasgow centered on him playing guard, yet the coach kept returning to his ability to play center. In the moment, we speculated if Campbell was hinting that Glasgow could be headed to a reserve role. But in hindsight, Campbell may have subconsciously given us a clue that they may need Glasgow to play center as soon as this season.
When Campbell was asked about Glasgow shifting from left to right guard, he remained purposefully vague, suggesting they’d find out in camp.
“I don’t know. That’s a thought, man. We’ve talked about that. Do you go back to right and is it (Christian) Mahogany left? Is it somebody we drafted? You know, you’re gonna do your best to let these guys compete and see where they’re at.”
While Glasgow certainly appears to be the frontrunner for the starting center position, the Lions will hold a competition to see who can win the job. But even if the role goes to another player, this post-NFL Draft quote from general manager Brad Holmes suggests the veteran offensive lineman will still be a massive piece to the organization in 2025.
“I think he’s going to be very valuable. And again, you’re talking about another one that’s got legit, proven positional versatility as well, so just with his experience, having legit stripes on the wall, glad that...
