"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," read the caption of an Instagram post by Frank Ragnow. The center of the Detroit Lions had bid his farewell to the game in June 2025 as a four-time pro-bowler. 

Despite being signed through 2026, the offensive lineman called it quits. There was speculation that he was unhappy with his contract, but it doesn’t matter anymore since he’s returning to the NFL! 

The Lions took to their official X account ahead of the Thursday game and posted the same picture that Ragnow had posted on his retirement, and that was it. No captions, no context. A little later, the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport announced, “The #Lions offensive line just got a lot better, as one of the game's greats will return -- Center Frank Ragnow is returning. Sounds like he's in shape and ready to roll sooner rather than later.” 

Interestingly, this comes just a few weeks after Dan Campbell made it clear Ragnow wasn’t returning. Fans might remember when the Lions were desperately looking for an offensive lineman near the trade deadline. That’s when the Frank Ragnow chatter began. But Campbell shut it down. “Here’s what I know about Frank. If Frank really wanted to, he would be blowing my phone up, and I haven’t gotten a text yet. So I think Frank is feeling good about his decision and look, they just had another baby, so happy for them. That ship has sailed.” 

The big question now is whether he’ll be back in time for the Thanksgiving game. That is what ESPN Senior NFL Insider, Adam Schefter, had to say. 

Taking to X soon after the comeback news, he posted, “Frank Ragnow’s first chance to play for the Lions will come next Thursday vs. the Cowboys, though it is considered unlikely for now, per source. A potential return-to-play date is Dec. 14 at the LA Rams.” With a two-week head start to learn the playbook, Ragnow can go big. We’ve already seen him do so. 

When Ragnow retired, he retired with 6,617 total snaps, starting all 96 games of his career with over 3,300 pass-blocking snaps at center with only 6 sacks allowed. Also, in the 2024 season alone, he played 1,060 offensive snaps. 

This will go a long way in keeping Jared Goff clean in the upcoming games. Jared Goff has already been sacked 23 times this season, and with the Detroit Lions being 7-4 this season, pass protection is going to be critical. 

This is not the place the team would like to be if they want to win the division for a third consecutive season. Let’s just hope this return might lead them out with the matches lined up against the big teams like the Packers and Rams. What do you think? 

Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar