Four-time Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow’s bid to come out of retirement and rejoin the Detroit Lions this season is over.
The Lions announced Saturday morning that Ragnow failed his physical due to a Grade 3 hamstring strain that will prevent his return to action for the remainder of this NFL season. The news comes three days after the team announced that Ragnow was ending his retirement.
“Frank Ragnow reported to our facility (Friday) and went through the normal process of meetings. Unfortunately, during the routine meeting with our medical team, Frank failed his physical,” the team said in a statement.
“… Frank has always been a team-first guy and is a true warrior. He will forever be a Lion.”
The Lions (7-5) have lost four of their past seven games and reside on the outside of the NFC playoff picture.
Ragnow, 29, started all 96 games in which he played during his seven NFL seasons before calling it a career in June, citing that he wished to prioritize health and family.
A first-round pick out of Arkansas, Ragnow was named second-team All-Pro last season.
Ragnow often was lauded for playing through injuries. In 2021 he played with a “fractured throat” after missing two games, and he pushed through a partially torn pectoral muscle after being ruled out for only one game.
Ragnow had chronic toe injuries, the onset of which he believes began with a torn plantar plate in his foot in 2021.
