Frank Ragnow has been a constant talking point this season for the Detroit Lions and their fans, and the noise surrounding the center's sudden retirement at 29 years old is not likely to die down until we get a better idea of the team's plan at center in 2026 and beyond.
One sure-thing is that Ragnow's departure has deeply impacted the Lions' projected dominance in 2025. The team went from a top-3 unit thanks to his pass protection to one of the more middling teams in that regard, although the Lions remain the top scoring offense in the NFL despite that.
Still, having Ragnow on a line that's faced a multitude of injuries and shifting guards would've been a hugely stabilizing force for what used to be the best offensive line in the league. And, Lions insider and reporter for The Athletic, Colton Pouncy, feels the same way.
Lions insider says the quiet part out loud about teams' poor Frank Ragnow retirement management
"The biggest loss to me wasn’t Ben Johnson, it was Frank Ragnow. I’m on record calling him their MVP about a year before he retired. Everyone in the building knew Johnson was leaving, and quite frankly, they’re fortunate he stayed as long as he did. He could’ve left after one year as OC. He gave them three," wrote Pouncy in a recent mailbag.
He added, "Ragnow retiring when he did, without a proper succession plan in place, was brutal. He had openly pondered retirement. It wasn’t a secret. Center was among the list of long-term needs, but they didn’t address it ahead of time — as the Eagles did with Jason Kelce and Cam Jurgens."
General manager Brad Holmes continues to bear the brunt of his decision not to focus on the center position either in free agency or in the draft, and instead hone in on their guard depth. Granted, Tate Ratledge has proven to be a starting-caliber right guard for the team this season, scoring out at 69.3 per PFF overall amongst guards and allowing just two sacks on the year.
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But, thinking that Graham Glasgow - a guard - could fill in as a Ragnow replacement was shortsighted and, frankly, cheap. Detroit has prided themselves on managing to get the most out of their fringe players, and not just their stars. And yet, they decided to run with a backup center at starting center in hopes that he could somehow improve at the position throughout the season.
To Glasgow's credit, he's stuck around at center for much longer than fans might've anticipated him to given his sudden thrust into the role. But, it's obviously not a solution that can last into 2026. And, given what Pouncy expounds here - that the team knew there were rumblings regarding Ragnow's desire to possibly retire - it's a bit of malpractice on Holmes' part to not find a better value center this offseason.
Detroit cannot afford to make this same mistake with Taylor Decker, who has begun to share some cryptic responses to reporter's questions about his potential retirement this offseason. If they do, they risk closing their window a bit more before even extending key stars like Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, and Sam LaPorta.