Reflecting on an offseason’s worth of quotes reveals the Lions were prepared for the possibility of Frank Ragnow retiring.
When All-Pro center Frank Ragnow announced his retirement , many fans and football analysts were caught off guard—but were the Detroit Lions ?
Some will point to the timing of Ragnow’s retirement on Monday, noting that it occurred after free agency and the draft, and argue that he did the Lions a disservice by not allowing them time to prepare for his departure. However, when you reflect on the offseason and reconsider the messages from the team—both in the media and through their actions, i.e., drafting two interior offensive linemen—it appears that the Lions were aware of this possibility and were making plans to keep the team operating at a high level.
Let’s examine some quotes and decisions the Lions made this offseason to see if we can gain some clarity.
Hints about Glasgow’s future
Reflecting back to late March at the owners meetings, Lions coach Dan Campbell was asked about Graham Glasgow’s play at guard and his future with the organization. Here are a few highlights from what he said (Editor’s note: the author made all bolding emphasis throughout this article):
“But Graham’s somebody that we still value because he’s got versatility … he can also play center. I think people forget that some. Man, he can do an excellent job at center, as a matter of fact … we have confidence in him. And there again, the fact that you know he can play all the positions, man, that lets you breathe easy.”
At the time, Campbell’s response was somewhat confusing, as most questions surrounding Glasgow centered on him playing guard, yet the coach kept returning to his ability to play center. In the moment, we speculated if Campbell was hinting that Glasgow could be headed to a reserve role. But in hindsight, Campbell may have subconsciously given us a clue that they may need Glasgow to play center as soon as this season.
When Campbell was asked about Glasgow shifting from left to right guard, he remained purposefully vague, suggesting they’d find out in camp.
“I don’t know. That’s a thought, man. We’ve talked about that. Do you go back to right and is it (Christian) Mahogany left? Is it somebody we drafted? You know, you’re gonna do your best to let these guys compete and see where they’re at.”
While Glasgow certainly appears to be the frontrunner for the starting center position, the Lions will hold a competition to see who can win the job. But even if the role goes to another player, this post-NFL Draft quote from general manager Brad Holmes suggests the veteran offensive lineman will still be a massive piece to the organization in 2025.
“I think he’s going to be very valuable. And again, you’re talking about another one that’s got legit, proven positional versatility as well, so just with his experience, having legit stripes on the wall, glad that we still have him and I think he can help a lot of those young guys.”
“Versatility” has been a keyword Holmes and Campbell have used throughout the offseason—and really their tenures in Detroit—and it was clearly a critical trait they looked for when starting their youth movement on the offensive line.
Targeting Tate Ratledge
Ratledge played over 2,000 college snaps at right guard but just four at left guard—and didn’t have any snaps at center or tackle at Georgia. But like most elite college programs, Ratledge was being cross-trained at multiple positions. Here’s an excerpt from Ratledge’s post-draft interview discussing his cross-training:
“Last fall camp I took a lot of snaps at center. Just like I can imagine going to left guard, I mean, it was a big transition. I had to get used to it. It took me a few days. I think when it comes down to it, a lot of the same rules apply. It’s just figuring out different footwork, hand placement, how to set people and how to run block people. It’s just figuring out different techniques and how to perfect those at different positions.”
While inexperienced at the pivot, Ratledge is very much a team player and is willing to do whatever it takes to help the organization.
“I’m here to do whatever helps the team win. I’m a team player through and through… I just want a chance to compete and a chance to go out there and do my best every day.”
Through rookie minicamp and Week 1 of Organized Team Activities (OTAs), Ratledge has gotten his chance to compete by taking the majority of his snaps at center in an effort to further his familiarity with the position.
Here’s Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley talked about Ratledge’s exposure to center:
“Center is not as natural for him yet, so you definitely tend to give him more reps at that, snapping the ball, making it more comfortable … It’s going to become natural for him. I thought what he did in rookie minicamp was pretty good, for handling that. Our centers, like across the whole league, they do a lot. They have a lot on their plates. They’re like quarterbacks of that o-line. They set a lot of the protections, a lot of the calls, and they work one-on-one with the QB. In time, he’s going to get it down and become a pretty good center here. I know he can flex out to guard.”
Fraley confidently suggesting that Ratledge will become comfortable working from the pivot is not by accident. If we reflect on what Holmes said about Ratledge post-draft, we’ll notice that he strongly emphasized Ratledge’s versatility.
“I don’t think enough can be said about that level of football that he’s played in… But he’s got a little bit more versatility. He rose more as the process went along because of his versatility that we were able to find out a little bit more about. I thought that he would fit in just like a glove here.”
When asked to compare Ratledge and Christian Mahogany’s “dirtbag” style of play, Holmes, once again, focused on the rookie’s versatility.
“Just like Mahogany fit what we were looking for, Tate fits what we’re looking for… He’s tough, he’s physical, he’s a lot more athletic than you may think, and he’s got a lot more versatility than people may realize, and that’s when he really, really rose through the process for us.”
While Holmes clearly believes Ratledge has the potential versatility to play center, he is also very aware that they’ll need Fraley to help him get comfortable with all the position entails.
“Hank (Fraley), he’ll cross-train all those guys. He’s going to cross-train all of those guys, so if they’ve only been at guard, he’s going to put a ball between their legs and see if they can snap… so he’s going to be able to assess if they have the right makeup and mentality and communicative skills. That’s a big part of just—it’s not about just being able to snap, I mean, you have to have elite communication skills.”
Hindsight is 20/20
While the Lions likely weren’t certain Ragnow was set to retire in 2025, their actions and statements clearly indicate that they had planned for the possibility.
It wasn’t entirely clear at the time, but at every opportunity to discuss Glasgow, both Holmes and Campbell focused their responses on his positional versatility and their confidence in him to contribute in 2025—as well as help the younger interior offensive linemen adapt to the NFL.
The Lions also believe Ratledge has the intelligence, athleticism, and versatility to transition to center—even if it’s not in 2025—while also strongly indicating that they believe Fraley is an elite coach who can help facilitate that move.
Additionally, while it may appear that the timing of Ragnow’s retirement announcement left the Lions in a tough spot, it’s worth noting that his decision to wait until June 2 allowed the team to distribute his salary cap hit in a more team-friendly manner . This suggests that the team was informed of his decision prior to his announcement, and they likely asked him to wait until June 2 to help the organization.
So, how will things play out?
We’ll have to wait until training camp to see the end results, but hindsight suggests the Lions have planned accordingly and put multiple contingencies in place of Ragnow’s retirement.