Taylor Decker had advice for Frank Ragnow on retirement

Tate Ratledge didn't know Frank Ragnow was coming out of retirement until he got an alert on his phone Wednesday, Nov. 26. Taylor Decker, meanwhile, was waiting on the news to drop for about a month.

Decker, the Detroit Lions' veteran left tackle, said he had been in regular contact with Ragnow during his retirement and the Pro Bowl center used him as a sounding board as he weighed his decision to return to the NFL in recent weeks.

"I'm just like, 'Pull the trigger, dude. Come on,'" Decker said. "But I love him to death, and I'm happy to happy to have him back."

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Ragnow formally came out of retirement Wednesday – the deadline to play this season – but did not appear in the Lions' 31-24 Thanksgiving loss to the Green Bay Packers.

He's on the commissioner's exempt list for now, but Lions coach Dan Campbell said Thursday he should be able to help the team's injury-riddled offensive line soon.

"Fired up to get Frank, to get him back," Campbell said. "He wants to play, wants to be a part of it, he misses the game and misses his teammates. So really fired up, man."

A four-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time second-team All-Pro, Ragnow retired abruptly in June after seven NFL seasons.

The Lions (7-5) have struggled on the offensive line in his absence this fall. They entered the week 15th in sack rate allowed and then allowed three more sacks and seven quarterback hits Thursday. They and are down two starters on their five-man line.

Left guard Christian Mahogany is likely out till the playoffs with a broken bone in his leg, and Graham Glasgow, who moved from left guard to center to replace Ragnow, missed Thursday's game with a knee injury.

Campbell said he was proud of the way center Trystan Colon and the rest of the line battled against the Packers, but acknowledged "things are a little different, that’s all." Before Ragnow's retirement, the Lions had one of the best lines in the NFL three years running.

"There’s just – it’s just a little different, that’s the best way to say it," Campbell said. "So sometimes you got to go about things a little differently. And I thought those guys battled out there today, man. I thought they did some good things in the run game, I did think we had some pretty good protection, a lot of our play-pass stuff. Now, I know we got hit on some stuff, but those guys went in there and competed."

The Lions have a walk-through Sunday and practices Monday and Tuesday before they host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, Dec. 4, at Ford Field.

It's unclear how much time Ragnow will need to get in game shape, or if he'll play against the Cowboys, but Decker said he knows Ragnow has been working out in preparation for a return.

"And if I know Frank, he's going to be in good shape," Decker said. "But as far as plans, I don't want to speak out of turn. I don't think that's my place."

Campbell, who said in early November "that ship has sailed" when asked about the possibility of a Ragnow return, said he caught wind that Ragnow was thinking about unretiring in recent days but didn't know for sure until Ragnow called him Wednesday morning with the news.

Ragnow should take over as starting center once he's ready for action, and the Lions could move Glasgow back to guard, giving them four of their five offensive line starters from last year, with Ratledge, the rookie, at right guard.

"He’s a good football player," Campbell said of Ragnow. "He brings a good football player, a lot of production back to that O-line and the game itself, but he's also a great teammate, man. He’s one of our captains, so he brings a lot to our team."

Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Frank Ragnow got advice on return to Lions: 'Pull the trigger, dude'