Pride of Detroit
Breaking down the impact—and outlook—for the Detroit Lions in wake of Frank Ragnow’s sudden retirement.
The rumors of a Frank Ragnow retirement had been swirling for a year or two, but the grim possibility became a reality on Monday: the All-Pro center and cornerstone of the Detroit Lions offense has retired.
Whether or not the Lions coaches and front office knew about the move prior to free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft is unclear, but what is clear is that the elite offensive line of Detroit is suddenly at risk. Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker continue to anchor the tackle positions, but every other spot along the offensive line has questions.
What’s next for the Lions amid this breaking news?
Ragnow signed a four-year, $54 million extension back in May 2021, a move that would have expired after the 2026 season. Ragnow was slated to have a salary cap hit of $14.05 million and $16.35 million in 2025 and 2026, respectively. With the early retirement, Ragnow has $8.4 million in guarantees, $1.2 million of which is a leftover signing bonus. Detroit could, in theory, recoup that $1.2 million as they did with Calvin Johnson and his early retirement, but it was also a black mark for the franchise that created distance between themselves and one of their all-time stars. For the rest of the salary hit, they could eat the entire cap hit in 2025, or split it between 2025 and 2026—the decision will fall on general manager Brad Holmes and company.
Following the offseason loss of Kevin Zeitler in free agency, the expectation was that two starting positions would be up for grabs: left guard and right guard. With the sudden retirement of Ragnow, the entirety of the interior is a question mark for the Lions.
Detroit has multiple in-house solutions, but none of them are slam-dunk cases. Graham Glasgow is the obvious candidate to take Ragnow’s spot, having played center multiple times as a starter and in relief. Other centers on the roster include Kingsley Eguakun and Michael Niese, neither of whom should be relied upon to start.
The dark horse candidate is rookie Tate Ratledge. Ratledge had no college experience at center, but post-draft, there was the expectation that he would get cross-trained at center. With Ragnow missing OTAs, it was Ratledge repping as the first-team center. Is this simple cross-training, or is center Ratledge’s position of the future? Athletically, Ratledge is an elite candidate at center—like Ragnow was—but at 6-foot-6, he is almost too tall for a center. Thankfully, quarterback Jared Goff is on the taller end of quarterbacks (6-foot-4), so struggling to see over his offensive line should not matter too greatly.
It all comes down to whether or not Ratledge can adapt to NFL-caliber opponents. The Lions will not rush him if he is not ready for it—if anyone can coach up an offensive line, it is Hank Fraley. The Lions did something similar with Ragnow as...
