Dan Campbell cites successful Saints past for how Lions can replace center Frank Ragnow
Frank Ragnow's retirement throws a curveball into the Detroit Lions offensive line plans for 2025. The second-team All-Pro center hung up his cleats this week, leaving the Lions with a hole in the middle of the vaunted O-line.
Detroit has several options to fill that hole. None are proven to be close to Ragnow's caliber, of course, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell brought up a similar situation and an ultimately successful story from a prior coaching stop.
Prior to Thursday's final OTA session, Campbell harkened back to his days coaching with the New Orleans Saints. In 2019, the Saints saw Pro Bowl center Max Unger walk away somewhat unexpectedly just before the draft. New Orleans selected Erik McCoy in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft to fill those big shoes. As Campbell tells it,
'Experience is big. It is. But I think it's whether it's there or it's the guy next to you, that can help out a lot too. But you're going to need some experience somewhere in there and as long as you have that, you're OK. I mentioned this before — Erik McCoy, he played center in college at Texas A&M when I was at New Orleans and Max Unger had just retired. We were fortunate we drafted him, and he was plug and play. We put him in. He grew quickly, quickly, quickly. By game three, game four, he was cooking. Doesn't mean you won't have growing pains, but it can happen fast."
Given the numerous comments from Campbell and players like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Dan Skipper that Ragnow's retirement wasn't entirely unexpected by the Lions, the decision to draft Tate Ratledge in the second round makes the comparison to the 2019 Saints situation quite prescient. Ratledge has taken the first-team center reps in Ragnow's place all spring, even back to the rookie minicamp, despite playing right guard at Georgia in college.
Campbell continued,
"The development can happen fast. I'm saying, for example, you put Tate (Ratledge) in there. If not, is it (Lions OL) Graham (Glasgow) by him at guard who's helping him out or is Graham your center? Or is it one of these other guys? Is it Kingsley (Eguakun)? We're going to have options. That's why we're excited about training camp. We're going to find this out. We're going to let these guys go at it."
Ratledge has noted that he did practice at center at Georgia and was the Bulldogs' backup center last season. His snapping has been impressive in the OTAs, though the sessions have been unpadded.
As for the Saints, McCoy has become a two-time Pro Bowler and the heir apparent to Ragnow and former Eagles All-Pro Jason Kelce as the top center in the NFC. He's different than Unger, who was a more agile presence, was in New Orleans, but has proven to be equally effective in his own way. The Lions are going to see if Ratledge is ready to write the same story in Detroit, or if this chapter takes a different turn for Campbell.
More: Breaking down the Lions options to replace Frank Ragnow now that the center is retiring
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