Frank Ragnow did Detroit Lions one last favor with timing of retirement

While the retirement of center Frank Ragnow came as a surprise to the rest of the NFL world, it was something the Detroit Lions knew could happen.

Ragnow wasn't present at OTAs this year, and while the thought was that he was holding out for a new contract, he was instead mulling his future in the league.

Head coach Dan Campbell admitted that the team knew Ragnow could retire, and that his absence from the voluntary portion of the offseason program was not contract-related.

"We knew that he was contemplating (retirement) for a while," he said, "but there was never a 'yes or no' or whatever; we did our best to give him his space, let him sort it out... We would certainly like (a decision) before the offseason is out, and he did."

As the Lions waited for a decision from Ragnow, the team went ahead and drafted a pair of interior offensive linemen in Tate Ratledge in the second round and Myles Frazier in the fifth.

Now, Ratledge is among the candidates to take over for Ragnow, along with veteran Graham Glasgow. The pair were splitting reps at center at OTAs amid Ragnow's absence.

The timing of Ragnow's retirement was important, not only because it came during the offseason like Campbell wanted, but also because it came following the 2025 NFL draft.

As Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio pointed out on the "Pardon My Take" podcast, the latter point is a big one for the Lions.

With teams believing Ragnow was playing in 2025, that helped the Lions avoid a scenario in which those teams would be more aggressive in jumping ahead of Detroit in the draft knowing they had an elite center to replace.

"They've got the rookie (Ratledge) they picked in Round 2 who's already taken the snaps at center," Florio said. "I think they knew (about Ragnow's retirement).

"Ragnow was transparent and he did them a favor by not retiring before the draft, because if he retires before the draft, then every time the Lions are on the clock, or approaching being on the clock, there's a blinking red light they're going to draft an interior offensive lineman," Florio explained. "By not knowing that Ragnow was out, it allowed them to not worry about getting jumped by somebody who tries to predict 'hey, you know we kind of like that guy, maybe the Lions are going to take him, let's cut the line in front of the Lions and get the guy they may be looking at.'"

That's certainly a logical point to make. Teams are always looking for an edge in the NFL draft and never want to tip their hands.

The entire league knowing Ragnow was gone would have done exactly that for the Lions and it may have made getting the interior linemen they had their eyes on much more difficult.

As if he didn't do enough for the Lions during his career in Detroit, Ragnow did the team one last favor upon his exit.