Dan Campbell loves Frank Ragnow because Frank Ragnow is one of the best centers in the NFL. He also loves Frank Ragnow because when doctors told the Pro Bowler he needed season-ending surgery to repair the turf toe injury he sustained in the Lions' Week 4 loss to the Bears, "He did not want to do it," Campbell said Wednesday.
Eventually, Ragnow relented and had his 'stupid toe' surgically repaired, ending his 2021 season and ensuring he's fully healthy for 2022.
"He feels guilty and he doesn't need to feel guilty, but that’s why you love him," Campbell said. "He wants to be a part of this and he feels like he's letting guys down, and it’s just the opposite. It’s like, 'No, you're not. You're being unselfish when you need to be selfish about this.' Because maybe there’s a chance that you get him back at the end of the year (without surgery), but there’s a bigger chance that however it scars in, it’s not properly healed the right way and we’re dealing with this for the rest of his career or it gets arthritic sooner than later and then it’s like, 'What are we doing?'
"So it was the right thing to do. It was significant enough where it needed to be fixed properly to heal properly."
Ragnow had the operation done Tuesday and said Wednesday via Instagram that everything went well. He said it's been an "extremely frustrating" process because "I take a lot of pride in reliability and knowing I won’t be there to have my guy’s backs going into battle sucks. "Remember, this is a guy who played through a fractured throat.
In Ragnow's absence, the Lions will continue to lean on backup center Evan Brown.
On the bright side, left tackle Taylor Decker could return for Sunday's game against the Bengals. Decker is coming off injured reserve Wednesday after missing the first five games of the season with a finger injury.