Frank Ragnow, the longtime center for the Detroit Lions, has announced his retirement from the NFL effective June 2, 2025. Ragnow played all seven seasons with Detroit, earning the starting role in his rookie year. Ragnow played 96 games with the Lions, with four Pro Bowl invitations amongst his professional highlights. The sudden retirement of Ragnow has left a glaring hole in the Lions’ offensive line. While coming as a shock to fans and teammates, it has been something brewing for a couple of years.
Ragnow shared a post on Instagram confirming his decision to hang up his cleats for good, citing reasons primarily related to his long-term health.
Ragnow wrote, “I’ve tried to convince myself that I’m feeling good but I’m not and it’s time to prioritize my health and my families (sic) future.” Ragnow has made a reputation for himself as being able to will himself through games with his history of injuries. He missed one game in 2024 with a strained pectoral muscle that eventually was downgraded to a partial tear by Week 15. Before that, in 2023, Ragnow accrued multiple knee and ankle injuries that caused him to contemplate retirement after that campaign.
The injury that drove his decision was a multiple-year issue with his left toe. It is one that is believed to have occurred during Week 4 of the 2021 season. While having a reputation for not missing much time outside of his rookie campaign, Ragnow has discussed this toe injury before. In an interview in 2023 with MLive.com, Ragnow said that “there is no surgery that can cure his painful left toe, no non-experimental one anyways.”
This lingering injury has been a factor in Ragnow’s decisions to play, along with listening to what his body has been telling him. There were rumblings of his potential retirement last offseason due to the long-term effects of this particular injury. Well, those rumblings have now come to fruition.
In that same Instagram post, there was nothing but positivity in response from his teammates in Detroit. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kerby Joseph are among the many who gave their respect to one of their field leaders. Even newer arrivals at Allen Park, like D.J. Reed and former teammates like Quandre Diggs, are giving props to a gentleman who was known for leaving it all out on the field.
Having been one of the few constants of the Lions’ organization, Ragnow was drafted by the Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia regime in the 2018 draft. Ragnow had been a starter since his rookie season, despite the injury woes. His longest stretch of missed time was during the 2021 season, due to the severe turf toe injury. But his grit became the embodiment of what the Lions’ organizational turnaround has been.
The question that lingers with Ragnow’s retirement is around the team’s offensive line. There were rumblings that offensive line coach Hank Fraley was set to leave the organization with the exodus of staffers after Detroit’s loss to Washington in the NFC Divisional Round last season. However, it was noted during the offseason that Ragnow had “convinced” Fraley to stay.
It is hard to imagine that Lions General Manager Brad Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell were unprepared for this scenario. Ragnow openly stated two years earlier about how bad his body was feeling. When Holmes traded up to draft guard Tate Ratledge in the 2025 NFL Draft, most were operating under the assumption that Ratledge would be taking over the right guard spot. It was left empty with the departure of Kevin Zeitler to the Tennessee Titans.
Before he even made his decision, Ragnow decided to miss OTAs, with Ratledge assuming his spot on the O-Line at center. Ratledge, performance depending on the preseason, would position himself to be the starting center against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 1.
The initial thought after losing a guy like Ragnow to not only the offensive line, but team itself, is whoever is the next man up has some massive shoes to fill. Ragnow’s toughness and the way he played through those injuries resonated with his guys. This was shown through all the love that he has been receiving on his post.
This is not the first time that Detroit has had players retire well before their expected “out date.” Unlike the retirements of legends like Billy Sims, Barry Sanders, and Calvin Johnson, Detroit currently has a competent front office. It is hard to think that Holmes and Campbell were not preparing themselves for this eventuality.
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
