Former Arkansas All-American Frank Ragnow reflects on retirement, attempted NFL return
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Former Arkansas standout center Frank Ragnow recently reflected on concluding his NFL career and briefly attempting a comeback that was not meant to be.
A year ago, Ragnow announced his retirement from football. In November, however, he was back in the headlines as he sought to return to the Detroit Lions. Ragnow’s hopes of unretiring were shot-lived, though, as a hamstring strain kept him from passing a physical.
“To shoot it to you straight, I was trying to will myself to play, and my body was telling me otherwise. And I was just in like a paralysis if you will,” Ragnow said recently, per ESPN. “I did not plan on retiring in the middle of the summer, believe it or not. I was trying to get like, ‘You can do it,’ for the guys, the fans … like, it’s who you are.
“But it’s just like I was uncomfortable, and it’s one of those things where you have a couple kids, and I don’t want a sob story,” he added. “I’m going to be completely fine and everything, but it’s one of those there where like, ‘is the juice worth the squeeze’ thing, and to me, ultimately it came down to that decision, and obviously, I struggled with that decision too.”
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Ragnow’s decision to unretire only to fail the physical confused many fans. He detailed that the injury happened shortly before he returned to the Lions. Ragnow says he’s at peace with the process, knowing that he tried to play.
“I got hurt a day or two before I got there, and it’s unfortunate. I should’ve listened to my body probably, but it is what it is,” Ragnow said. “It’s a learning experience, and at least I can say I laid my head on the pillow at night and said I tried. I tried for the team. I tried for the fans. And it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Ragnow played at Arkansas from 2014-17. He was an impact player from the beginning, making the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2014. In 2016 and ’17, the final two seasons of his college career, Ragnow was named first-team All-American as well as first-team All-SEC.
Detroit selected Ragnow with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He played 96 games, all starts, from 2018-24. Ragnow was a 4-time Pro Bowl selection (2020, 2022-24) and named second-team All-Pro 3 times (2020, ’23, ’24).
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Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
