'Stubborn' Frank Ragnow Pushing to Play Against Seahawks

Dan Campbell explained Frank Ragnow's desire to play despite pectoral injury.

Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow (77) prepares to snap the ball to quarterback Jared Goff. / David Reginek-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions took plenty of lumps in Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Multiple key players left the game with injuries, with even more injuries being reported on Monday after the 20-13 win to improve to 2-1. Marcus Davenport was ruled out for the season, and linebacker Derrick Barnes will be out for a significant period of time with a knee injury.

Another big hit came in the form of center Frank Ragnow, who was diagnosed with a partially torn pec. He played every snap in Sunday's win and it's unclear when the injury occurred, but he has been labeled week-to-week.

Ragnow has earned Pro Bowl honors three times in his career, and was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2023. Through three games, he has a 71.8 overall Pro Football Focus grade, with an especially high 82.2 mark in run-blocking.

With the Lions set for a Week 4 matchup with Seattle on Monday and a bye week after that, coach Dan Campbell indicated that the center has been stubborn about wanting to suit up for the upcoming game.

"First of all, Frank is stubborn. He's hard-headed Frank, he's tough, he's stubborn," Campbell told 97.1 The Ticket. "He wants to go, and he always wants to go, but this is something we're still talking about now. I'm not entirely sure what we're gonna do with him, a lot of it is where's he gonna feel by middle or end of the week.

"But he does have something in there, and he did play through some of this last week. And so, we'll do what's best for him and what's best for us in the moment ultimately, but you know how I feel about Frank, we all do. Appreciate the heck out of him, man."

Montgomery's run 'like mother's milk'

The Lions knew the run game was going to be an important part of defeating the Cardinals. After a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that featured an uncharacteristic pass-heavy performance, the Lions got back to their roots and pounded the ball against Arizona.

In the end, Detroit outgained Arizona 187 yards to 77, finishing with a win that saw the lines on both sides of the ball hold serve for much of the afternoon. Detroit's run-first identity was emphasized in particular by one fourth quarter David Montgomery run.

Facing a first-and-10 from inside their own 25-yard line, the Lions put the ball in Montgomery's hands. The result appeared to be a modest gain, but Detroit's entire offense appeared to jump in and help block as Montgomery wound up gaining 16 yards.

David Montgomery's feet are fully off the ground for the final 6 yards of this carry because the Lions' offensive line is made solely out of goblins pic.twitter.com/Z6mSmZVSF7

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 22, 2024

For Campbell, that specific play was emblematic of Detroit's offensive game plan. Montgomery paced the Lions with 105 yards on 23 carries, along with a rushing touchdown.

"Well, look, really that whole game, just the nature of that but really that play was like mother's milk when you're a baby, to tell you the truth. It's food for the soul," Campbell said. "It's outstanding. That guy fought for every blade of grass and then your o-line is just surging and they finish. Really, the whole game was that way. Our backs were driving for every and then you see, here comes the o-line, here comes St. Brown, our tight ends, everybody is just pushing the pile. That one, hell, we got 16 yards on that. That's nothing but willpower and effort, and it was awesome."