ALLEN PARK -- Dan Campbell said the Detroit Lions knew All-Pro center Frank Ragnow was considering retirement and that they were giving him the needed space to make his decision.
There was still some surprise when Ragnow announced his retirement earlier this week. But they knew it was a possibility, and Campbell even said Ragnow came to him to talk about the decision.
The Lions head coach also said it was disrespectful to assume this decision was contract-related and did his best to shoot down that rumor and innuendo.
“Frank’s been an unbelievable teammate, football player, man of the community, man, he’s done it all,” Campbell said Thursday morning. “He will be sorely missed. One of the greatest memories of Frank was the divisional against Tampa Bay, fourth-and-1. We run downhill with Craig Reynolds, and he’s got a big boy (Vita Vea), and he hits him, and he kind of hits the knee, then he had to get back up, and we score, and it was huge. That’s the type of player he was. He will be missed. But this train goes on, the train rolls on. And it’s the next man up.
“I got all the respect for Frank Ragnow. Man, I love him to death. And the other thing is quite frankly, some of the stuff about contract talk, that’s disrespectful. That’s not what this was ever about. Anyway, love you, Frank. Appreciate you.”
Campbell reiterated on the contract rumors that “it was not about that, it was not about that.”
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Ragnow announced his retirement as related to his health and his family’s future. The All-Pro and multi-time Pro Bowl center has dealt with foot, toe, ankle and knee injuries in recent years, among many others, missing only four games across the last three seasons.
“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 families 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. I have to listen to my body, and this has been one of the hardest decisions of my life.”
Campbell added that when you know, you know, and that was the decision Ragnow came to at the end of the day. When it came to what the Lions knew before the announcement, the head coach said they knew it was a chance it would happen.
“We knew he was contemplating it for a while, but there was never a yes or no or whatever, and we did our best to give him his space and let him sort it out, which he did,” Campbell said. “It was kind of one of those, ‘Hey, man, you’re going to come to a decision at some point; we certainly would like it before the offseason is out, and he did.’ And it was time.
“Whenever you know, it’s your time -- It is the right time. It’s not fair to him and it’s not fair to his teammates or anyone else. I respect the hell out of him for the decision. It’s not easy to do. It’s not easy to do. But he knows himself, and I respect that.”
Campbell said the Lions will be ready to go when training camp hits in July. He likes the versatility and experience of Graham Glasgow and has full trust in offensive line coach Hank Fraley to get the young players ready to roll.
Tate Ratledge has been handling a lot of first-team reps at center with Ragnow’s absence. There are also two guard positions to fill, along with Ragnow’s hole at center, so Glasgow should be considered the early favorite to take over in the middle of the offensive line.
Christian Mahogany, Ratledge and Glasgow are the top options on the interior, but the Lions need to put the pads on and play football before they’ll know what it looks like come Week 1 in Green Bay.
“We will be ready to go when camp hits. We’ll be ready to go. We got plenty of versatility up there,” Campbell said. “We like the guys that we drafted. We like our free agents that we’ve brought in. The young guys, Kingsley (Eguakun) being one of those guys.
“Having Graham helps, now, it’s huge. He’s got the flexibility to play both guards and center.”