The Detroit Lions came out of Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals with a lengthy list of injuries. On Monday night, center Frank Ragnow was added to the list with what's been reported as a partially torn pectoral he suffered early in that game. He did not miss a snap.
Ragnow of course made an early push to play in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks, as confirmed by head coach Dan Campbell during his radio appearance on Tuesday. As tough as he is, and all the injuries he has played through in his career, it'd be hard to bet against him playing with any of a wide array of ailments. A torn, or partially torn, muscle is a different deal though.
As the Lions started their week of preparation for next Monday night against the Seahawks on Thursday, Campbell had the inevitable news about Ragnow.
"We're gonna put Frank down this week, so I'll go ahead and get that out of the way," Campbell said. "We can go round and round if we want, we're not even gonna mess with that. Frank's tough, I mean, he's tough as nails. If anyone can play through that it's him. I think we've got to be smart. It's early in the year, we've got a lot of football left."
Frank Ragnow out for Week 4 vs. Seahawks, as expected
Campbell gave no indication that Ragnow is headed for IR. The Lions have their bye in Week 5, so that feels easy to layer into the decision to hold him out against Seattle. A partially torn pec can very easily become a full tear, and possibly end his season.
The Lions' plan to fill in Ragnow is likely to shift Graham Glasgow over, as was done when Ragnow missed time last season. Then Kayode Awosika or Michael Niese would take Glasgow's place at left guard.
Awosika started four games for the Lions last season, with three starts at left guard-including the NFC Championship Game. So he's the likely new starter in a rearranged offensive line, over however much time Ragnow misses.