The Detroit Lions announced Saturday that center Frank Ragnow failed his physical and won’t be returning, just days after it was announced that he would come out of retirement to rejoin the team.
“Unfortunately, during a routine meeting with our medical team, Frank failed his physical,” the Lions wrote in a statement posted on X. “The medical exam revealed a Grade 3 hamstring strain that will keep him from participating for the remainder of the regular season.”
Statement from the Detroit Lions pic.twitter.com/0qHJXzg35t
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 29, 2025
On Wednesday, the Lions formally announced the return of Ragnow, who retired in June. The 29-year-old had to be reinstated from the reserve-retired list before Thursday’s game against the Packers to be eligible to play this season.
Detroit was hoping Ragnow’s return could help stabilize a struggling offensive line, which was one of the best in the NFL last season. From 2022 to 2024, the Lions offense was second in EPA/play with Ragnow, and 16th without him. Detroit was also third in sack rate when Ragnow played, and 25th when he didn’t.
“Frank has always been a team-first guy and is a true warrior,” the Lions statement read. “He will forever be a Lion.”
The Lions have lost three of their last five games and are the eighth-best team in the NFC at 7-5, currently outside the NFC playoff picture.
Bad news for Detroit
This is absolutely brutal news for the Lions. Ragnow’s decision to come out of retirement had a chance to turn around Detroit’s offensive struggles. His ability to hold up in pass protection could’ve given Jared Goff more time to survey the field. His run blocking could’ve opened up more interior rush lanes for Detroit’s backs. He impacts all elements of the offense, and even if he were 85 percent of the player he was pre-retirement, it would be better than what the Lions had. However, Ragnow’s failed physical slammed that door shut.
“I mean, look, of course we’re disappointed,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “Just because Frank’s such a good dude and a great teammate and he’s a productive player, but at the same time, he’s injured, too. So then you quickly move off of that and know what it is. He’s not playing, and it’s all good, man. We adjust, we move on, and, I mean, we’re onto Dallas now.”
Campbell said Ragnow disclosed to the team that he was dealing with a hamstring issue before announcing his return. However, the physical revealed a Grade 3 strain — shocking in some ways, but par for the course for Ragnow — and Ragnow’s season is now over before it started. Campbell said he hadn’t talked to Ragnow about the possibility of returning in 2026, with one year left on his contract. But at a minimum, he will not be the savior of this team in 2025.
“We knew there was something in there,” Campbell said of Ragnow’s hamstring strain. “He had disclosed that he had a little bit of something in there. We just didn’t know the severity of it until we had the final physical and all the tests that were run that we do with anybody that we bring in. So, yeah, we had an idea, we just didn’t know it was gonna be to that extent.”
Ragnow felt like a glimmer of hope for the Lions after their playoff hopes took a nosedive this week. The Lions lost to the Packers, all but ending their NFC North hopes. The Bears went into Philadelphia and imposed their will on an Eagles team that tamed the Lions weeks earlier. The Athletic’s Playoff Simulator gives them a 32 percent chance to make the playoffs. The Lions realistically have to win four of their final five games to give themselves the best shot. Any less than that and they’ll need help. That path is harder without Ragnow. — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer