DETROIT -- Four-time Pro-Bowl center Frank Ragnow is coming out of retirement and returning to the Lions.
He has decided to unretire and return to the Lions because he "loves the game," a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Wednesday was the deadline for Ragnow to come out of retirement and be eligible to play this season, sources added to Schefter. If a player is on a club's reserve-retired list, he must be reinstated before that team's Week 13 game. Detroit hosts NFC North division rival Green Bay on Thursday in its annual Thanksgiving Day appearance.
The Lions announced that Ragnow, 29, has been placed on the exempt/commissioner permission list.
Ragnow's first chance to play for the Lions will come next Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys, although a return that quickly is considered unlikely for now, a source told Schefter. That makes Detroit's following game, Dec. 14 against the Rams in Los Angeles, a likely return target.
The Lions still hold Ragnow's contractual rights for two seasons -- this year and next. When Ragnow returns to Detroit this week, his contract will be reinstated.
Ragnow announced his retirement in June after seven NFL seasons.
He has battled through multiple injuries throughout his career.
In 2021, following a season in which Ragnow played with a fractured throat, general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell made him the league's highest-paid center at the time with a $54 million, four-year extension.
In 2024, he played 16 games, missing only the team's Week 4 game vs. Seattle with a partially torn pectoral muscle. He didn't miss a start afterward and was named to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season. Without Ragnow as this season kicked off, veteran lineman Graham Glasgow filled the center role for the Lions, who are off to a 7-4 start this season.
In another move Tuesday, the Lions activated defensive end Marcus Davenport from injured reserve. Davenport had been on IR since Sept. 22 because of a chest injury.