Frank Ragnow Reflects on Failed November Comeback After 3 Hamstring Strain
Frank Ragnow said his brief November comeback attempt failed after a Grade 3 hamstring strain, closing the door on any return after he left the Lions at 29. He reflected on the decision Friday in Lake Orion, Michigan, and said he has no plans to try again.
“I was just trying to will myself to play,” Ragnow said Friday at his annual Rags Remembered Foundation event. “I was, and my body was telling me otherwise.”
Lake Orion return
Ragnow said he had not been back to Detroit since he learned his physical deal had failed. He also said the comeback did not last long enough to change the retirement he announced a little over a year ago, when he said his body could no longer handle the physical toll of the NFL.
That timeline left him with a decision he tried to revisit in November, but the hamstring strain shut it down. “I did not plan on retiring in the middle of summer, believe it or not,” he said. “Is the juice worth the squeeze?”
Goff and the Lions
The harder part, he said, came from watching Jared Goff and the rest of the Lions play without him. Ragnow said he tried to avoid games at first, then started watching and felt guilt.
“You see the guys — and I tried to avoid games, tried to distract myself from it. Then I started watching games, and I felt guilt,” he said. “Jared (Goff) getting hit — that’s my guy.”
He added: “Those are my guys, and they’re struggling.” Ragnow said, “And then I made a bonehead decision and tried to get ready to play, got hurt, and … that was tough.”
Rags Remembered Foundation
Ragnow appeared at his annual Rags Remembered Foundation event, where the foundation hosted its annual skeet shooting event on Friday. He said moving on from football has left him in a “great place,” and he told the crowd, “I’m excited to be back.”
The foundation will host approximately 40 kids on Saturday for Camp Huddle Up. That keeps Ragnow tied to Michigan even after retirement, with the event schedule carrying the same local footprint he wanted to maintain after leaving the field.
For the Lions, the story is no longer about whether their former center will return. Ragnow has ruled that out, and the November attempt is now the final chapter of a comeback that never got past the hamstring strain.
