Could Frank Ragnow Play Sunday, Even If He's Unable to Talk?

Read more on Frank Ragnow's injury and if he can play this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

Detroit Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell addressed reporters for his Thursday media session and addressed several questions regarding the throat injury to center Frank Ragnow.

Ragnow, who injured his throat during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers, did not miss a single snap after signaling to his teammates that he had issues with his voice and could no longer verbalize offensive calls.

Detroit's talented center has been required by team medical personnel to not speak until at least Friday, at which time the team will re-evaluate his availability for Sunday. 

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Could Ragnow suit up and play Sunday if he struggled to talk like he did this past Sunday?

“We definitely have to think about all that, all the contingency plans in case that happens. But I think right now it’s just important for us to wait until Friday to see how it progresses, where he’s going to be at. We really can’t make a statement on if he’s going to play or not – that’s going to be basically up to the medical professionals and specialists to tell us if he can do that. We want to make sure that obviously we’re putting him out there in a safe environment, that he’s safe to be able to do that. So we’ll wait until Friday, and we’ll handle all that as it comes our way.”

Bevell indicated Detroit's coaching staff is evaluating possible methods to communicate without having to put extra strain on his vocal cords, but they want to be cautious not to cause further damage to his throat and vocal cords. 

“We’re not going to put him out there if it’s not safe,” Bevell said. “We don’t want long repercussions of this for him down the road. And I don’t think he would want that, either. So we’ll take the information that we get from the specialists and go with that.”

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