The Frank Ragnow era for the Detroit Lions is officially over. The four-time Pro Bowl center recently announced his retirement, calling it a career at just 29 years old. Ragnow spent his entire seven-year career with the Lions, being drafted by the team in the first round of the 2018 Draft. Considering what he meant to Detroit, the Lions had to send him off right.
The team did that on social media with an emotional video that’s nearly four minutes long. Starting from the moment Ragnow was drafted, the video details the kind of player he was on the field, and also the person he was off it. For Lions fans, and for the ones who don’t understand Ragnow’s importance to the franchise, the video makes it clear.
Ragnow started from day one with the Lions, and he gave everything he had to the city. Considering his 96 starts in seven seasons, it might not seem like he dealt with many injuries. However, the center dealt with a ton of injuries, often playing through them, or defying the odds during recovery and getting back quickly. Through it all, he dominated.
That’s why it’s understandable when Ragnow says he has to prioritize his health and listen to his body. If he’s saying he can’t go anymore, then he truly can’t. However,he retires leaving the Lions in a much better place than when he arrived. At the start of Ragnow’s career, Detroit was a perennially bad team, and the laughing stock of the league. Now, the Lions are perennial contenders, on the short list of teams that actually have Super Bowl-or-bust expectations.
Ragnow played a huge role in that transformation for the Lions, and now he gets to rest. Detroit, on the other hand will be challenged with maintaining the success while trying to replace an elite player and franchise pillar.
