With Frank Ragnow retiring, what’s next for the Lions?

Breaking down the impact—and outlook—for the Detroit Lions in wake of Frank Ragnow’s sudden retirement.

The rumors of a Frank Ragnow retirement had been swirling for a year or two, but the grim possibility became a reality on Monday: the All-Pro center and cornerstone of the Detroit Lions offense has retired .

Whether or not the Lions coaches and front office knew about the move prior to free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft is unclear, but what is clear is that the elite offensive line of Detroit is suddenly at risk. Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker continue to anchor the tackle positions, but every other spot along the offensive line has questions.

What’s next for the Lions amid this breaking news?

Salary

Ragnow signed a four-year, $54 million extension back in May 2021, a move that would have expired after the 2026 season. Ragnow was slated to have a salary cap hit of $14.05 million and $16.35 million in 2025 and 2026, respectively. With the early retirement, Ragnow has $8.4 million in guarantees, $1.2 million of which is a leftover signing bonus. Detroit could, in theory, recoup that $1.2 million as they did with Calvin Johnson and his early retirement, but it was also a black mark for the franchise that created distance between themselves and one of their all-time stars. For the rest of the salary hit, they could eat the entire cap hit in 2025, or split it between 2025 and 2026—the decision will fall on general manager Brad Holmes and company.

For more details, check out Erik Schlitt’s salary cap breakdown .

Present: 2025 starters

Following the offseason loss of Kevin Zeitler in free agency, the expectation was that two starting positions would be up for grabs: left guard and right guard. With the sudden retirement of Ragnow, the entirety of the interior is a question mark for the Lions.

Detroit has multiple in-house solutions, but none of them are slam-dunk cases. Graham Glasgow is the obvious candidate to take Ragnow’s spot, having played center multiple times as a starter and in relief. Other centers on the roster include Kingsley Eguakun and Michael Niese, neither of whom should be relied upon to start.

The dark horse candidate is rookie Tate Ratledge. Ratledge had no college experience at center, but post-draft, there was the expectation that he would get cross-trained at center . With Ragnow missing OTAs, it was Ratledge repping as the first-team center . Is this simple cross-training, or is center Ratledge’s position of the future? Athletically, Ratledge is an elite candidate at center—like Ragnow was—but at 6-foot-6, he is almost too tall for a center. Thankfully, quarterback Jared Goff is on the taller end of quarterbacks (6-foot-4), so struggling to see over his offensive line should not matter too greatly.

It all comes down to whether or not Ratledge can adapt to NFL-caliber opponents. The Lions will not rush him if he is not ready for it—if anyone can coach up an offensive line, it is Hank Fraley. The Lions did something similar with Ragnow as a rookie: they started him at guard, then moved him to center in Year 2. Perhaps Ratledge follows a similar trajectory.

Regardless, that leaves 2025 up in the air. There are four candidates with a strong shot at winning three offensive line positions: Ratledge, Glasgow, Christian Mahogany, and rookie Miles Frazier. Of those four, only Ratledge and Glasgow appear to be candidates for center. Mahogany, having played phenomenally in limited action last season, looks like a front-runner for a guard spot. Frazier’s chances of winning a starting role have significantly improved. Glasgow had a rough 2024 campaign and is on the downswing of his career. If Ratledge can comfortably slide into center, then Frazier simply has to beat Glasgow—a very real possibility. At the very least, Frazier should be a top reserve among the interior linemen.

Future: 2026 and beyond

Replacing an All-Pro like Ragnow is a difficult task. If Ratledge is the Lions’ center of the future (and perhaps even the present), then they will have four seasons to evaluate him on his rookie deal. If he stays at guard and cannot transition to center, the Lions have a pressing need.

The 2026 offseason has a few options. Potential 2026 free agents include Tyler Linderbaum (Baltimore Ravens ) and Josh Myers (New York Jets ), though the cost could prove steep in a weak center class—if they even hit free agency in the first place. As for the draft, Jake Slaughter from Florida stands out as a first-round caliber center, but a lot can change between now and next April.

As for options currently under contract, Eguakun has some promise, but it is worth remembering that he was a 2024 undrafted free agent—he will need to earn a role. Glasgow’s contract expires at the end of the 2026 season. However, his performance significantly worsened in 2024, and a late-career renaissance is unlikely. Come 2026, Glasgow might not be a starting-caliber player. Additionally, during his recent tenure with the Lions, some of his worst games were at center in relief of Ragnow. It remains to be seen how much of his weaker play was covered up playing next to an All-Pro in Ragnow.

Conclusion

The retirement of Ragnow was a bombshell to the Lions community, but it appears as though the Lions had some contingency plans in place. They have some short- and long-term possibilities to replace him, but they remain just that: possibilities. The Lions do not have a sure-fire bet to replace Ragnow, and in a year with Super Bowl aspirations, this group needs to hit the ground running.