Dan Campbell brought up Frank Ragnow and was soon fighting back tears. Four days after Ragnow announced his surprise retirement, Campbell saluted the Lions' All-Pro center who gave everything he had to the franchise over the past seven years.
"An unbelievable teammate, football player, man in the community. Man, he’s done it all," Campbell said Thursday before the Lions' final practice of OTA's. "He will be sorely missed. One of the greatest memories I have of Frank is the divisional against Tampa Bay, 4th and 1, we run downhill to Craig Reynolds, man, and he’s got big boy (Vita Vea), and he hits him, and he kind of hits a knee and then he has to get back up, tie up the block and we score, man. It was huge. That’s the type of player he was."
At this, Campbell swallowed a lump in his throat and paused to gather his emotions.
"But, man, this train rolls on," he continued. "And it’s the next man up. So we will be ready to go when camp hits. We will be ready to go. We got plenty of versatility up there. We like the guys that we drafted. We like our free agents that we brought in, the young guys, Kingsley (Eguakun) being one of those guys, among others.
"I got all the respect for Frank Ragnow and, man, I love him to death. And the other thing is, quite frankly, some of this stuff about contract talk, that’s disrespectful. That’s not what this was ever about. Anyway, love you, Frank. Appreciate you."
Ragnow retired after years of playing through pain and injuries, including a partially-torn pec last season and a chronic toe injury. He said that his body had nothing left to give. There was a report last week when Ragnow was absent from OTA's that he was upset with his contract, which had two years remaining and little guaranteed money left. Campbell reiterated that if that was what drove Ragnow to retirement, "we would have found a way (to make it work), because the communication would have been open, clean and clear."
"I also know Frank, and this was not about that," Campbell said. "This was not about that."
The Lions began putting contingency plans in place this offseason for Ragnow's departure, knowing that "he was contemplating it for a while," said Campbell. They drafted two interior offensive linemen in Tate Ratledge in the second round and Miles Frazier in the fifth. They also drafted two offensive linemen last year in Giovanni Manu and Christian Mahogany. Ratledge and veteran Graham Glasgow are the leading candidates to take over at center, while Mahogany and Frazier will both compete for starting jobs at guard.
With Ragnow and guard Kevin Zeitler out of the picture, Detroit will have at least two new starters on its O-line, which has been one of the NFL's best for three years running. It could be as many as three depending on Glasgow's performance in training camp.
"Look, it's different knowing Frank is out of the fold now. It is," Campbell said. "I hate to use the word unsettling, but there is acknowledgement that, OK, that's where we're at and now we need growth. We need development, quickly.
"Look, that's why Hank Fraley is the coach in that room. He's done a hell of a job developing talent and he's going to get these guys right, whoever it is, between Frazier and Ratledge, and some of these young guys we've got. And, there again, having Graham helps now. It's huge because he's got the flexibility to play both guard and center."
While Ragnow, who turned 29 last month, mulled his decision, Campbell said the Lions "did our best to give him his space and let him sort it out." They asked him respectfully to let them know one way or another before the end of the offseason "and he did," Campbell said.
"And it was time. And whenever you know it’s your time, it is the right time -- because it’s not fair to him, and it’s not fair to his teammates or anybody else. So I respect the hell out of him for the decision. It’s not easy to do," Campbell said. "It’s not easy to do. But he knows himself. And I will always respect that."
Campbell said that Ragnow's decision did come as a "bit of a surprise" on the heels of "one of the best seasons he ever had. He was the healthiest he's been in a long time. You're like, man, he's in his prime right now."
"But if you're him, you've also got to remember the amount of time and work and detail spent on taking care of his body," Campbell said. "The training, the rehab that goes into it. Before he even trains, you're talking about hours and hours and hours: 'I need to work on this an hour before, I've got to train for two hours, then I've got to make sure I get the game plan in, that's another hour. Then we've got to get ready for practice.'
"It's just the physical and mental side of it, man. You've got to be of a certain mindframe. And if you feel like you're not there, the time is right to walk away."