Former Lions centre Frank Ragnow has failed his physical and won’t rejoin the team down the stretch, ending his plans to come out of retirement.
The team announced on Saturday that the 4x Pro Bowler had a Grade 3 hamstring strain that would prevent him from playing. It’s unclear whether the 29 year old plans to make another comeback during the offseason to rejoin the team in 2026, or whether this will in fact be his last attempt to rejoin the NFL.
“Frank has always been a team-first guy and is a true warrior,” the team said in a statement. “He will forever be a Lion.”
“Of course we’re disappointed just because Frank is such a good dude and a great teammate and he’s a productive player, but at the same time he’s injured too,” head coach Dan Campbell told reporters. “So, man, you quickly move off of that and know what it is and he’s not playing.”
The Lions could use some help along their offensive line, as the team has stumbled of late, suddenly finding themselves 2 games back of the division leading Bears, and a game and a half behind the Green Bay Packers.
The team has already lost tight end Sam LaPorta for the season due to a back injury, and are without centre Graham Glasgow, guard Miles Frazier, and just lost WR Amon-Ra St. Brown to an ankle injury on Thanksgiving.
The team won’t have long to dwell on their recent setbacks as they’ll have a Thursday night showdown with the Dallas Cowboys on December 4th which will have major playoff implications for both clubs.
Photo: Michael Barera. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.