After a 2023 season that featured a laundry list of injuries and practice reports that looked like a game of "Operation", Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow seemed like a man who was legitimately pondering his future.
"I got to figure everything out," Ragnow said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. "We landed at 5 a.m. (after NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers) and now I’m just trying to process everything and take a look at my body and my MRIs and figure everything out."
"It takes a toll on you,” Ragnow said. “It really takes a toll on you, so I need to find a way to get back to Frank and I don’t regret any of this at all, but it weighs on you and I’m just going to take some time and really figure everything out to make sure that I’m feeling good, not only for me the football player but for me to be the best husband and best father and everything with that as well.”
Soon after that, in early-February of 2024. Ragnow declared he was not retiring. But a subsequent report made it clear, if it wasn't obvious, that his remaining seasons were numbered and the Lions should've had a succession plan somewhere on their radar immediately.
Retirement talk around Ragnow had faded after the 2024 season, then in early June he announced he was calling it a career. By that point free agency and the draft were obviously in the rearview mirror, and the Lions were left scrambling to figure out who would replace him.
Giving Ragnow ample time and space to make a decision about his future last offseason, and him obliging by waiting until OTAs were all but over to do so, put the Lions in an untenable situation. That said, they also had no apparent plan for when he would call it quits when that time was obviously creeping close. The results the offensive line has had this season show the oversight there.
General manager Brad Holmes has talked metaphorically about keeping the talent pipeline along the offensive line full, likening it to watering a garden. While Ragnow is as close to irreplaceable as it gets, a lack of real attention to who would succeed him in the middle of the offensive line now looks as egregious as it is inexplicable.
Lions beat writer proposes all-in move to secure Frank Ragnow's successor
Heading toward the offseason, two of three starting spots along the Lions' offensive line look tenuous. Left tackle Taylor Decker has openly said he'll consider retirement after the season, the center spot will surely have someone new and left guard Christian Mahogany has to prove he can stay healthy.
With the idea some things have to be done about the Lions' offensive line, Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports laid out a position-by-position five-step plan to bring the unit back to greatness.
First was left tackle, with Payton recommending the Lions take their left tackle of the future in the first round of the 2026 draft. Left guard was "get Christian Mahogany healthy", but with the idea Miles Frazier could be legit competition.
Payton's plan for right side of the line, as should be the case, was sticking with Tate Ratledge and Penei Sewell (despite the idea Sewell could move to the left side as Decker's replacement).
Between the ideas he had for the guard and tackle spots, Payton (rightly) proposed as all-in move to unequivocally replace Ragnow.
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"Back up the Brinks truck to Tyler Linderbaum’s house and do not take no for an answer."
"If you learned anything this season, it’s that an offensive line goes the way its center goes, Payton wrote. "If that guy isn’t good, then the whole line won’t be good. Right now, this team is just way too talented to be going into the draft hoping for a good center to fall into its lap and develop quickly. The Lions are also way too talented to stick Tate Ratledge there and hope he works out."
"Tyler Linderbaum is a proven talent at center, and his addition could change this offensive line for the better overnight. We’re talking about one of the most important free agency signings in Lions’ history. It won’t be easy. The Ravens will probably do what they can to keep him. The fact that they declined his fifth-year option gives Detroit a chance if he hits the market in March."
Pro Football Focus has graded Linderbaum out as a top-10 center in the league in each of his four seasons, counting this one. He earned his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod this year as well.
The Baltimore Ravens inexplicably did not pick up Linderbaum fifth-year option for 2026 last offseason, so he's set to break the bank in free agency come March. That also means there willbe plenty of competition for his services, with the fact he won't turn 26 until after he signs somewhere (April 7) further fortifying his market value.
Cap space for 2026 is a bit of a thing for the Lions right now. But, according to Over The Cap, a restructuring of Jared Goff's contract can clear more than $40 million in space. So there'll be no excuse to not aggressively pursue Linderbaum. And with a narrow list of needs compared to some of his other potential suitors, making him "an offer he can't refuse" should be no problem.