Fans: Lions have obstacles following Ragnow’s retirement, remain top contender

Exploring Detroit fans confidence in the 2025 Lions following the retirement of Frank Ragnow.

On Monday, Detroit Lions All-Pro center Frank Ragnow surprised the fan base when he announced his retirement from the NFL. A few days later, with enough time to process the impact of Ragnow’s decision, we used SB Nation’s Reacts survey platform to ask fans if their confidence in the 2025 Lions had changed.

For the most part, the survey results closely aligned with our expectations based on our interactions with the fan base over the past week. Losing Ragnow is undoubtedly a huge loss for the Lions offense, but most fans recognize this Lions team remains highly talented and deep.

Roughly three-quarters of the fan base still believes the Lions are one of the top teams in the NFL, and another quarter believes Detroit’s win total will suffer, while just a handful believe this is devastating enough that the Lions may have missed their window at a championship.

While there is some doubt locally—and nationally on some platforms—it’s worth taking note that the people setting the betting odds haven’t moved the needle much. For example, according to the folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook, the Lions odds to win the Super Bowl (+1000), make it to the NFL Playoffs (-200), win 10.5 games (+105), repeat as NFC North winners (+150), and win the NFC Championship (+500) all remained very close to where they were before the announcement.

Let’s look at the comment section of our original survey to allow Lions fans to explain their reactions and voting choices (slightly edited for clarity):

• PonceDeLion: “How can my confidence not drop? He was more than a glue guy, making the right calls and holding his own. Ragnow was a warrior in the trenches, winning his block consistently. The offense won’t look the same for a while with more leaks in the interior.”
• RodrigosEgo: “I find it hard to pick anything other than ‘Shakier, but we’re still a top contender.’ Even if we get average play from center this year, there is a huge drop from #2 to #16. But we also still have Sewell, ARSB, Goff, etc., and I don’t see any way we aren’t a top contender with average center play.”
• HotDawg69: “We’re not as dominant without Ragnow, but I still think we’ll run the table.”
• Defend The Den: “Can’t expect to immediately replace the production of an All-Pro player. There may be a few bumps along the way in the first few weeks of the season, but they will be just fine and should have a solid succession plan developed for the longer term.”

Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Detroit Lions fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.