Getty Frank Ragnow runs on the field before a Lions game in 2021.
One of the bigger losses for the Detroit Lions this season in terms of injury came when the team lost center Frank Ragnow to a toe ailment midseason.
Instead of trying to play through the pain and make the injury worse, Ragnow decided the best move for himself and the team would be to shut things down and get surgery. As a result, he wasn’t seen the rest of the year and Evan Brown took center stage for the team.
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While Brown did well to step in, Ragnow was not forgotten at all by the fanbase considering how good he is at the position. The good news? Speaking on Monday, January 10 after the conclusion of the season in an interview posted to DetroitLions.com, Ragnow told the media he is feeling good and getting to the point where he is over the injury.
“I feel good, I’m getting there. I’d say I’m right on schedule or a little bit ahead of schedule. I’m going to be able to have a normal offseason I think. Probably a month from now I’ll be normal,” Ragnow told the media. “Also, the blessing is there’s no rush now that I have the offseason, so a month from now, everything will be normal.”
It’s good to hear Ragnow is feeling better, and significant that he will be able to have a normal offseason of work to get ready for what is a big 2022 year for the team on the field.
Ragnow: Injury Statuses Come Down to Luck
Even though he felt as if he could play through the pain, Ragnow admitted it was a smart decision not to, because he could have damaged his foot more in the process. As a whole, Ragnow had a smart opinion about the injury in that he knows it was bad luck more than anything which cost him time this past season.
“It’s frustrating, but when you look around it really happens everywhere. It comes down to luck for some teams,” Ragnow said. “It’s frustrating but it’s part of it. It’s a violent, physical game. For mine, it wasn’t even a violent physical play for it to happen. It’s annoying, it’s frustrating, it doesn’t always make sense but it is what it is, you know?”
The 2021-22 Lions had a tough season in terms of injury, considering the players that they lost. Ragnow understands that it may have been bad luck more than anything else.
Ragnow’s Toe Injury Revealed Season-Ending on Tuesday
Ragnow, the team’s Pro Bowl center, went on injured reserve midseason with a toe injury and figured to perhaps return in a month or so. That never happened and he was lost for the season. That happened because Ragnow indeed had surgery on the injured toe back in early October.
This news was first revealed on the morning of Tuesday, October 12 by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. As he reported, Ragnow would be undergoing surgery on the toe, and would be missing the rest of the 2021 season so that he might be ready for 2022.
More brutal injury news for Detroit: #Lions Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow will have season-ending toe surgery, sources say, cutting short his 2021 but making sure he has full health for 2022. Ragnow recently saw Dr. Robert Anderson to confirm the necessity. He is already on IR.
Ragnow exited Week 4 in Chicago with the injury and missed Week 5, and Brown came in as his replacement. While Brown is not Ragnow, the Lions didn’t have any trouble with snaps, and the team managed to survive the situation well all things considered. Brown was the guy moving forward for the Lions at center the rest of the season, and he did an admirable job all things considered.
For the Lions, next man up was the theme of a lost 2021 season, but Ragnow has begun to turn the corner and get in better shape for the present and future. In 2022, Ragnow will be back and healthy. This setback now is only temporary, and now that the calendar has flipped, it’s good to see the center is back to feeling much better and on the right track.