DETROIT --After suffering a tough loss to the Green Bay Packers and suffering a stiff blow to their playoff hopes, the Detroit Lions sure are excited to welcome [Frank Ragnow back into the fold](https://www.mlive.com/lions/2025/11/all-pro-frank-ragnow-ends-retirement-to-rejoin-detroit-lions-for-playoff-push.html).
And while everything feels terrible right now, as it should, that’s truly something to be thankful for.
Ragnow shocked the football world when he unretired on Wednesday, returning to the Lions after stepping away about six months ago. Jared Goff said he heard from Ragnow a couple of weeks before the announcement. Dan Campbell said he heard rumbling for a couple of weeks, too, getting the call from Ragnow on the morning he made his decision.
“Yeah, fired up,” Campbell said. “Fired up to get Frank back. He wants to play, he wants to be a part of it, he misses the game, he misses his teammates. And so, we’re really fired up. He’s a good football player; he brings a good football player, a lot of production back to that O-line and the game itself.
“But he’s also a great teammate. He was one of our captains, so he brings a lot to our team.”
Taylor Decker, one of Ragnow’s closest friends and teammates, is going to let the center explain his decision and how he feels physically. But the team’s longest-tenured player said he thought it was leaning this way for the last month, and he’s fired up, too.
The starting left tackle isn’t sure how big a role he played in Ragnow’s decision to unretire. But they’ve been in constant contact for the last five or six weeks, with Ragnow using Decker as a sounding board for his thought process.
“I think he just wanted to, like, bounce it off me because obviously, I mean, everybody knows, like, me and him are really close,” Decker said. “He’s one of my best friends. Love the guy to death. He was just kind of using me as a sounding board and kind of getting feedback from me. I don’t think I necessarily convinced him, other than the fact that maybe he loves me, and he wants to come play with me a little bit more.
“I knew it was probably gonna happen for probably about a month, and I’m just like, pull the trigger, dude. Come on. But I love him to death, and I’m happy to have him back.”
Decker added that he knows Ragnow has been working out, playing around with the idea of putting his cleats and pads back on. For now, he’s happy to have his close friend and one of the team’s leaders back in the fold when the Lions need it the most.
Trystan Colon started at center for the injured Graham Glasgow on Thanksgiving. The Lions are already operating with Kayode Awosika at left guard for the injured Christian Mahogany, as well.
Goff was sacked three times, hit seven times and faced 13 pressures. Detroit’s rushing attack, coming off three straight big games from Jahmyr Gibbs, was held to 119 yards on 30 rushes. That’s not terrible, but Gibbs needed 20 tries to get 68 yards and was running and looping around for his life on the quest for a crease.
Ragnow’s return gives the Lions an elite player and one of the game’s best warriors of his generation. Now, at 7-5, the question of whether it will happen soon enough or be enough to save them is worth asking.
It gives Goff his trusted center back in the fold, identifying blitzes and seeing the big picture better than most. Ragnow has battled through a ton of injuries in recent years, but still managed back-to-back seasons as a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro.
For a Lions interior offensive [that’s struggled in each of their losses](https://www.mlive.com/lions/2025/11/why-frank-ragnows-return-is-exactly-what-the-detroit-lions-need.html). It also gives them a major boost, as Ragnow is an elite run blocker and one of the best interior pass-blockers of his generation.
Ragnow is a calming presence who has played at the highest levels for most of his career. He brings another level of preparation of football intelligence to the table, and his return is a very big deal for a team that is all of a sudden fighting for its life.
“I didn’t know he was coming back for sure a few weeks ago, but I knew he was interested a few weeks ago,” Goff said. “Yeah, I’m glad he’s back. That’ll be fun. I don’t know when he’ll end up playing, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”