Frank Ragnow, the center for the Lions and a four-time Pro Bowler, has announced his retirement.

Frank Ragnow, a center for the Detroit Lions who was selected to four Pro Bowls during his seven NFL seasons, made his retirement announcement on social media on Monday.

Ragnow wrote on Instagram, "I have realized that my football adventure is coming to an end and that I am officially retiring from the NFL. These past couple of months have been very tough." "I have tried to tell myself that I am feeling fine, but I am not, and it is time to put my family's future and my health first. I believed I had more to offer, but the truth is that I just do not have it. I have given this squad everything I have.

"This has been one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, and I must pay attention to my body. I can not express how thankful I am for this club and all of the fans enough, and the Lions organization has been nothing short of amazing throughout this process. It was a true honor to fight for all of you.

Throughout his career, Ragnow fought through numerous injuries. After a season in which he played with a broken throat, general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell gave him a five-year, $54 million agreement in 2021, making him the highest paid center in the league at the time.

The only game the 29-year-old Ragnow missed last season due to a partly torn pectoral muscle was against Seattle in Week 4. After that, he started every game and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third straight year.

The Lions selected him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and he was named to the second team All-Pro in 2020, 2023, and 2024. Under then-coach Matt Patricia, he played 96 games in his career, all of which were starts, and was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2020.

Ragnow's most likely replacement is rookie Tate Ratledge, a second-round selection from Georgia. During OTAs, Ratledge, 24, who played guard in college, has been getting first-team drills at center for the Lions.

In 2021, Ragnow missed 13 games due to what he described as "the most severe degree of turf toe." Early in the 2022 season, he had another injury to the same toe, but he managed to play through it during what he described as one of the hardest years of his career.