After losing the two-game season series, the Chicago Bears will try to take down the NFC North crown from the Detroit Lions in 2025. It won’t be easy as the Lions are a well-oiled machine, and have their core intact.
However, the Lions suffered a shocking loss in the trenches on Monday, which could have a significant domino effect on their offense, but the rest of the NFC North. Detroit All-Pro and Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow announced his retirement from football after spending seven years with the Lions.
The 29-year-old Ragnow released a statement on Instagram detailing why he’s stepping away from the game. The Lions took Ragnow in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft (No. 18 overall) and quickly turned him into one of the league’s better centers.
Ragnow was a consummate professional, barely missed any time, outside of the 2021 (four games played – season-ending foot injury), and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. He was also named second-team All-Pro four times.
Last season, Ragnow had a 63.6 pass blocking grade (35th among 64 qualified centers), but a terrific 90.8 run-blocking grade (3rd). He was only penalized seven times and gave up two sacks in 1,060 offensive snaps.
This is a monumental loss for Detroit as they will try to fill Ragnow’s role with veteran Graham Glasgow or rookie Tate Ratledge. It won’t be a complete fix, which is great news for the rest of the division.
The Bears have made notable changes on their offensive line this offseason, specifically at center with the signing of Drew Dalman in free agency. At this time, you could make the case that Chicago has a better center than the Lions.
The center position doesn’t get highlighted much, as more of the attention is on the guards and tackles. However, losing a Pro Bowl center is nothing to look past. That said, we’ll see if Detroit has the answer in-house or if they’ll have to find another option.