Photo Credit: Junfu Han, USA TODAY/Imagn Images.

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As we all know, Lions long-time All-Pro starting center Frank Ragnow announced his retirement yesterday. But what does this really mean for the Lions?

Obviously, it’s never good to lose an All-Pro player at any position. It’s especially not good when that All-Pro player is the captain of the offensive line, the second most important position on offense. Losing a center of his caliber is especially rough, as the center is essentially the quarterback of the offensive line, he calls out what blocking schemes they will use each play, while also understanding the defensive front, blitzes, and coverage’s. The center is the vocal leader, and they are the only linemen that ever touches the ball. His 85.3 overall grade and 90.8 run block PFF grade both ranked 3rd among centers last season, and he has clearly been one of the NFL’s best centers over his career. It was an understandable decision, as Ragnow has undergone multiple surgeries, played through many injuries, and dealt with a debilitating toe injury over the past 4 seasons. The Lions are losing a tough, elite, great leader with his departure.

Who Takes Over For Ragnow?

The loss of Ragnow is a tough one, but Holmes has set us up well for the eventual loss. He traded up from pick 60 to pick 57 in the second round to draft Tate Ratledge, giving up pick 130 while receiving the 230th pick back. It was a bit much in my opinion, but it won’t matter what we gave up if he ends up a good player. Ratledge has been taking first team center reps at OTA’s, which likely means he is getting looks to start there. Glasgow has played some center in his career as well, so I would expect a camp battle for the position.

Brad Holmes likely knew this was coming, and that is probably why he double-dipped on the interior offensive line in the draft, both with trade ups. Holmes traded up again in the 5th round, giving up picks 182 and 228 for pick 171 to draft Miles Frazier from LSU. Both players offer versatility for Detroit, having played different positions in their careers. Ratledge less so than Frazier, as Ratledge played only right guard during his time at Georgia, and Frazier was moved all over the line at LSU. As I said before, I believe this will be a camp battle between Ratledge and Glasgow, but I wouldn’t be that surprised if Frazier gets a look as well. I would put my money on Ratledge right now, as he is getting a ton of center work with Fraley. My belief is it will be Decker-Mahogany/Frazier-Ratledge-Glasgow-Sewell. In my opinion, that is still a pretty good unit. The left guard spot is up for grabs, and I think either player would work just fine there. I would probably lean Mahogany to start there, as he has more familiarity with the scheme, and he showed he can do it when he was needed last season.

What Does It Mean For The Offense?

As I said before, it’s never easy to replace an All-Pro, but it’s even harder when it’s a position as valuable as center. I do expect a bit of a step back for the unit, but I don’t think we will totally fall from grace. I expect some sort of learning curve for Ratledge, if he ends up the successor to Ragnow. This could also affect the offense as a whole, for multiple reasons. The first being the center must communicate with the quarterback, as well as the other linemen to ensure the play is run correctly, and that’s not easy to learn. Also, because Ragnow is so good, I don’t expect Ratledge to play at the same level, at least not right away. I don’t think this offense goes from elite to bad, I’m not even sure it suffers statistically. However, we lost Zeitler and Ragnow this off-season, both high level players, so I would expect some sort of drop off. I would expect the run game to suffer more than the pass game, but we could see more pressures coming from the interior than we are used to, especially when we face the elite interior rushers, which isn’t a good sign for Goff. It will take some time for everyone to gel too, as an offensive line unit needs chemistry to play at their highest level. Hopefully that is done in practice, but there’s nothing like game speed. If we were the first or second best offensive line last season, I would expect us to end up around fifth or sixth by the end of next season, which is not terrible by any means. There is a small chance Ratledge plays up to par, the young guys step in well, and we don’t fall off much. I would not expect that though, as it is a tall task.

What Does It Mean For Cap Space?

Frank Ragnow was due $14.05 million and $16.3 million against the cap in 2025 and 2026 respectively. Obviously, with his retirement those numbers are subject to change, but how much? Most people assume that because he retired, the full number will come off. However, that is not usually how it works due to bonuses. It is most likely that the Lions will have to pay whatever guarantees are left, but the Lions have a track record of trying to get some of that money back from early retirees, a la Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders.

Let’s break down the contract, so you have a better idea of what it looks like.

2025: Base salary: $9.15M
Signing bonus: $1.2M (Guaranteed)
Option bonus: $3.6M (Guaranteed)
Workout bonus: $100,000
Cap hit: $14,050,000

2026: Base salary: $11.9M
Signing bonus: $0
Option bonus: $3.6M (Guaranteed)
Roster bonus: $750,000
Workout bonus: $100,000
Cap hit: $16,350,000

In total, the Lions are on the hook for $8.4 million, which realistically is not a ton. I personally don’t believe the Lions will, or should, go after Ragnow to try and get that money back. However, we saw the Lions go after all-time great Calvin Johnson for just $3.2 million, which is less than half of that, and he only paid half of it back. The Lions are under new ownership though, so there’s a possibility it doesn’t end up the same way. I personally hope not, because the relationship between Johnson and the Lions was quite strained for a while after his departure from the organization.

We are not sure what the actual cap hit will be once Ragnow officially retires, but June 2nd is the day NFL teams are given the option to split a players guarantees over two seasons, as long as the player is no longer with the team. This is good for Detroit, because that likely means they will spread the $8.4 million over two seasons.

However, there are two options they could choose, and either would make sense.

Option 1:

The Lions could opt to put all of the money on the books for 2025, which would then mean the entire $8.4 million would hit the cap this year. This would also mean there would be a $0 cap hit for 2026. This would free up $5.6 million in 2025. I could see them taking this route if they don’t plan to use the money to sign someone this year.

Option 2:

The Lions could also opt to spread it over two seasons, which would clear up more money this season. If they decided on this route, Ragnow’s cap hit for 2025 would be $4.8 million, freeing up $9.2 million in 2025. This option would also mean they kick some of that money to next year, with Ragnow’s cap hit being the $3.6 million option bonus.

Either option is fine, however I would prefer to spread the money over two seasons. I would do this because the Lions are currently having money troubles, and having $9.2 million more this season would likely allow us to sign at least one starter level player. On the flip side, Detroit will have even less money to spend next season, so maybe they prefer to bite the bullet now. We shall see what they decide to do.

What’s Next?

Ragnow leaving opens a hole on the offensive line, but fortunately we have done a good job remaining deep there. Guys like Kingsley Eguakun, Michael Nise, Netane Muti, Kayode Awosika, Giovanni Manu, and the aforementioned Christian Mahogany and Miles Frazier will do a pretty good job as a unit. There are still some solid guys in free agency though, as Brandon Scherff, Shaq Mason, Will Hernandez, Dalton Risner, and more are still available. I personally would be somewhat surprised if the Lions do sign another linemen, but I could see it happening. Losing Ragnow doesn’t just mean we lost a starter, we also lost a depth piece (each player has to move up the depth chart) and a veteran presence.

*EDIT: Lions signed veteran IOL Trystan Colon to a 1-year deal.

It will be a tough loss for the Lions to overcome, but our roster is set up in a way that it shouldn’t totally derail us. We will see what the Lions decide to do with Ragnows contract, as that will likely affect any decisions Holmes will make. As we all know, I would love to sign a pass rusher, and this would open up money to do so.

We wish Frank the best of luck in his future, and we thank him for all he gave to this organization over the years. He was a stalwart on the offensive line, and a great leader in the locker room. He will definitely be missed on and off the field. Taylor Decker is now the only player still around from the Bob Quinn days.

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