Lions center Frank Ragnow announces retirement from NFL: 'It was an absolute honor'

Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News on Jun 2, 2025

Published in Football

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DETROIT — One of the most important pieces of the Detroit Lions' vaunted offensive line is hanging up the cleats.

Center Frank Ragnow on Monday announced his retirement on Instagram after seven seasons, four Pro Bowls and three second-team All-Pro honors.

Ragnow was not been present at the team's OTAs last week, and it appears this is the reason why.

"These past couple of months have been very trying as I've come to the realization that my football journey is ending and I'm officially retiring from the NFL," Ragnow wrote on Instagram. "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 (family's) future. I have given this team everything I have and I thought I had more to give, but the reality is I simply don't."

Ragnow continued, "I have to listen to my body and this has been one of the hardest decisions of my life. The Lions organization has been absolutely incredible throughout this process and I can't emphasize this enough how grateful I am for this team and all the fans. It was an absolute honor going to battle for you all."

Ragnow, 29, was a first-round pick (No. 20 overall) out of Arkansas by the Lions in 2018. He played 96 games for the Lions, all starts.

He will be remembered as one of the toughest Lions players of his era. He finished the end of a hopeless 2020 season despite suffering a fractured throat in December. His only injury-derailed season came in 2021, when he played just four games while battling turf toe.

Ragnow consistently was battling several injuries throughout the course of a season, sometimes appearing on the injury report with three or four ailments, including his knee and back. This past season, Ragnow suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle in Week 3 and missed just one game.

A day after the Lions' 2024 season, which ended with a heartbreaking divisional-round loss to the Washington Commanders, concluded, Ragnow said he was "healthier than I've ever been" at the end of a season.

After the loss to Washington, Ragnow bemoaned another missed opportunity to win a Super Bowl with the Lions, but didn’t talk like a man who was considering retirement.

“Just try to channel (the emotions) and use it, whether it’s anger, sadness — whatever it is — try to use that as motivation into the offseason,” Ragnow said. “It’s brutal, though. People are asking me today when am I going home and stuff like that. I wasn’t planning on it. I wasn’t planning on any of this. That’s the frustrating part. It’s just like that. We’re packing up and it’s over.”

A year prior, speculation about Ragnow's potential retirement ran rampant after Ragnow made mention of wanting to take some time to heal up following Detroit's NFC Championship loss to the San Francisco 49ers. But he gave another vote of confidence to his health later in the offseason, saying he felt "as good as I've felt in a while."

"This has been my best offseason, 100%. I really dove into a lot of things to take care of my body and I feel like I'm clicking right now. The goal is to keep it a steady trajectory into the season," Ragnow said last May.

Ragnow has immersed himself in the community, helping local families deal with the grief of losing a loved one through his charity, the Rags Remembered Foundation, which will host its third annual skeet shootout this Thursday. He was the team's 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.

From a football perspective, this leaves the Lions — who have in recent years developed a reputation as having one of the league’s best offensive lines — with an open competition at all three spots on their interior offensive line. Former right guard Kevin Zeitler departed in free agency and Detroit seems intent on letting its young pups challenge for Graham Glasgow’s role.

The Lions drafted two offensive guards, Georgia’s Tate Ratledge (Round 2) and LSU’s Miles Frazier (Round 5), in April.

Ratledge has been taking snaps at center throughout rookie minicamp and OTAs. Glasgow also has ample experience at center after backing up Ragnow at the position for the last two seasons.

Further down the depth chart, Michael Niese and Kingsley Eguakun are options to backfill the reserve roles.

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