Frank Ragnow wanted to play, but Detroit Lions said no for Seahawks game
Frank Ragnow wanted to do it, but the Detroit Lions said no.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said the Lions will err on the side of caution this week and hold Ragnow, their Pro Bowl center, out of Monday night's game against the Seattle Seahawks at Ford Field.
Ragnow, 28, suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle in last week's win over the Arizona Cardinals and told coaches he wanted to play through the injury this week.
"We’re going to put Frank down this week," Campbell said Thursday at the team facility in Allen Park. "So I’ll go ahead and get that out of the way. We can go round and round if we want. We’re not going to mess with that. Look, Frank’s tough. I mean, he’s as tough as nails. If anybody can play through it, it’s him. I think we got to be smart. It’s early in the year. We got a lot of football left."
Ragnow, who played all 68 offensive snaps against the Cardinals and had a key hand in the team's season-best 187-yard rushing day, has a long history of playing through injuries. Last year, Ragnow played 15 of 17 games in the regular season and all three playoff games despite battling ankle, knee and toe injuries much of the year. In 2020 he returned early from a fractured throat.
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With Ragnow out Monday, the Lions are expected to shift personnel on their line.
Left guard Graham Glasgow is the backup center, and either Michael Niese or Kayode Awosika could take Glasgow's place at left guard.
The Lions suffered a slew of injuries last week against the Cardinals and will be without Ragnow and defensive starters Derrick Barnes (knee) and Marcus Davenport (triceps) this week. Safety Brian Branch remains in concussion protocol, while Campbell said defensive tackle Alim McNeill will practice Thursday after leaving the Arizona game with a shoulder injury.
"Alim’s doing better. He’s day to day," Campbell said. "He’ll be out there running around today, so we’re pretty good there."
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Preorder it now from Reedy Press.
Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Frank Ragnow injury update: Detroit Lions C will miss Seahawks game
