The Detroit Lions are in the process of finding a proper successor to Frank Ragnow, who announced his retirement from the NFL after playing for the Lions his entire career. It was a shock to everyone but the Lions, who seemed to have known for a while that Ragnow had been toying with the idea of stepping away from the NFL due to years of injuries.
With Ragnow out, the Lions have had to turn to the three best available options to them in OTAs at center: rookie Tate Ratledge, and veterans Graham Glasgow and Christian Mahogany.
Glasgow has experience at center from his playing days with the Denver Broncos, while Mahogany was just named a breakout player to watch for by PFF. Ratledge, a guard while with the Georgia Bulldogs, has been getting reps at center so far this offseason.
In Lions team reporter Tim Twentyman's recent piece with takeaways from Lions OTAs so far, he reveals the player that has been getting the most reps between these three linemen at Ragnow's old position: the rookie Ratledge.
"The three names logging the most snaps at center and the two guard spots with the first-team offense were Graham Glasgow, Christian Mahogany and rookie Tate Ratledge. Mahogany was mostly at left guard, Ratledge at center and Glasgow at right guard. Ratledge and Glasgow seem to have the edge at center with Ratledge taking the most snaps there during the open OTA practices," reported Twentyman.
Rookie has edge to win center position
Ratledge had mentioned to media during OTAs that he had taken reps at center while with Georgia, so clearly the rookie has a versatile mindset when it comes to playing the offensive line. Additionally, Detroit has a ton of time to figure out who’ll work at the position before the start of the preseason and ahead of their Hall of Fame game in July.
This is a great idea from the Lions staff as it gives them an opportunity to see if Ratledge can be a “low cost” solution to such a big hole that now exists on their line. It also gives an opportunity for another rookie, Miles Frazier, to compete for a spot on the roster at guard if Ratledge is asked to slide over to center moving forward.
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Detroit is great at getting maximum effort out of the depths of their roster. Ratledge, hungry for a role with this team as a rookie, is sure to fall into that category if he's getting so many looks at such a coveted position.