Allen Park — Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow showed the toughness every NFL team desires in its offensive linemen, playing all 69 of the team’s offensive snaps in the season opener after suffering a groin injury in practice earlier in the week.
“He makes you proud,” offensive line coach Hank Fraley said. “That’s what you want all your guys to do across the team, and shoot, who knows what his percentage was, how healthy he was, but he battled.”
Despite battling through the injury, Ragnow’s status is still day-to-day, according to coach Dan Campbell.
“Yeah, Frank’s a little sore and he won’t practice (Wednesday),” Campbell said. “We’re just going to have to monitor him and see how he feels. It is, it’s kind of a day-to-day and we’ll see where we go with it.”
One of the best centers in the league, Ragnow scored Pro Bowl recognition after the 2020 season and was well on his way to earning those honors again last year before a severe toe injury knocked him out the final 13 games.
On Sunday, while dealing with the groin injury against a talented defensive line, he wasn’t able to play to that same lofty standard he’d previously established — not that anyone was complaining, given the circumstances.
“He had a couple — a mistake here and there — but man, he plays physical, and the guys feed off of it,” Fraley said. “And he’s a leader and he wasn’t gonna come out of the game at all. So, it was fun to see him battle through, and looking forward, you want that in the middle. His leadership, his mind, his focus, his control of the offense, that’s something to be said.”
Lions promote Jackson
With the open roster spot created by placing defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike on injured reserve this past weekend, the Lions signed running back Justin Jackson off the team’s practice squad.
Temporarily elevated off the practice squad for the opener, Jackson served as the Lions kick returner in the contest. In the preseason, he led the team with 109 rushing yards, averaging an impressive 6.1 yards per carry.
In four previous Nseasons, all with the Los Angeles Chargers, Jackson amassed 1,548 yards from scrimmage, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.