On Monday, major news broke that Detroit Lions center, four-time Pro Bowler Frank Ragnow, has retired.
This news is brand-new, and now the elite Lions offensive line did just get noticeably weaker. Detroit took Ragnow in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and he has been their primary center since 2019.
Ragnow started 96 games in the regular season and four in the playoffs, so he played an even 100 in the NFL.
The Lions offensive line was just dealt a brutal blow
Ian Rapoport was first on the news:
Newly 29 years old, Ragnow made the Pro Bowl in 2020, and in the 2022-2024 seasons, perhaps playing the best football of his career this past season. With Frank Ragnow out of the picture, Detroit may have to do some shifting along its offensive line, but the solution might be obvious.
Graham Glasgow has played with the Detroit Lions for six seasons and has played both guard and center. He's a very logical candidate to insert into that starting center role, but Detroit would then have to fill that guard spot.
Christian Mahogany or Netane Muti could be obvious candidates to step into guard, so while the Lions would have to do some shifting, they could absolutely still field a top unit in the NFL. The tackle duo of Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell might be the best in the league, and they did just use a draft pick on Tate Ratledge, so perhaps Detroit had an idea that Frank Ragnow could retire.
Overall, though, this is still quite the major move in the NFL and does deal a notable blow to an elite unit, but the Lions have an insanely efficient infrastructure in place, so there is reason to believe that they'll end up being just fine with this unit.