The Detroit Lions are signing former Arizona Cardinal center Trystan Colon to a one-year deal this afternoon, plugging a hole left in the offensive line in the aftermath of long-time center Frank Ragnow retiring on June 2nd, 2025. Entering the league as an undrafted free agent, Colon is a five-year veteran, having played for both the Ravens and Cardinals.
Trystan Colon’s addition fills an immediate hole on the offensive line. His big 6’3″, 313-pound frame coupled with his experience handling snaps will fill an immediate need in the middle of the offensive line, as the Lions attempt to fill the void left with Ragnow’s absence on the field. This signing adds to an offensive line that was already looking to replace G Kevin Zeitler’s departure.
The Lions are not thin at any position on the offensive line, boasting 16 O-linemen on their roster. The caveat to that is that the only natural center behind Frank Ragnow is Kingsley Eguakun. Eguakun has a similar story as well as size to Colon, both being UDFAs, and being the same height and weight, however, Eguakun was relegated to the practice squad for the entirety of the 2024 season.
With Ragnow’s departure after seven seasons, the longest-tenured Detroit Lion on the O-Line is Graham Glasgow, a ten-year veteran. After him, the next longest veterans sit at five-plus years of playing time. General Manager Brad Holmes has attempted to bolster the line with something of a youth movement.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, Holmes pulled the trigger on drafting two then-rookie linemen, Christian Mahogany and Giovanni Manu. Both have shown signs of brilliance when called upon, Mahogany showing his talent and strength in Week 16 against the Bears; Manu is still raw and developing on the practice squad, not having seen in-game action.
In a similar vein, Holmes drafted two more rookie linemen to further his vision of getting younger in the trenches. The additions of Tate Ratledge and Mason Miller add two young, big bodies to a line already loaded with raw, yet sometimes, undeveloped talent. However, both rookies are the beneficiaries of coming from programs with very sound offensive lines in Georgia and North Dakota State, respectively.
The gulf between NFL-ready talent and practice-squad guys seems to be noticeable if looking at the Lions’ roster as it sits now. Guys like Colby Sorsdal, Michael Niese, and Dan Skipper have excelled in their backup roles and have done well in spot starts. However, guys like Jamarco Jones or Kingsley Eguakun appear to be eternally relegated to the practice squad. In Jones’ case, being a tackle, it is hard to get starting or backup reps with the guys in front of you being Skipper, Taylor Decker, and Penei Sewell.
At the end of the day, Detroit needed to make a move, if nothing more than to fill a roster spot. Ragnow’s retirement took a steady seven-year presence out of that locker room, and another veteran voice could be beneficial. Not only that, Colon is a people-mover, the kind of big man that Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell like having on the line.
Colon has been relegated to a backup role for most of his career, with his most games started being last year at seven. It is curious to see if Colon can become the starter or if he and Ratledge will be pulling rotational duty during training camp. One would think that if Ratledge cannot catch on at center, which is not the rookie’s natural position, Colon would be the Week One starter in Green Bay.
Graham Glasgow has filled in at center when injury necessitated it, but while servicable, he has looked shaky at best handling the snaps. If Detroit cannot figure out this hitch during OTAs and during training camp, it very well could handcuff their championship aspirations.
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