On Friday, local writer Vito Chirco from Lions OnSI published an opinion piece titled “Frank Ragnow Can Stay Home, Lions’ 2025 Season Looks Bleak.” And while the frustration after the Thanksgiving loss is understandable, the article’s central argument, that Ragnow should “stay home”, is not only misguided, it’s downright disrespectful.
The Detroit Lions are 7–5, not 2–10. They are banged up, inconsistent, and currently in a skid, but they are still very much alive in the NFC. Suggesting the return of a four-time Pro Bowl center is somehow harmful? That’s not analysis. That’s panic dressed up as insight.
What Chirco Actually Wrote — And Why It’s Wrong
To be fair, Chirco didn’t mince words. He made his stance clear, and that’s exactly the problem. Here are the exact lines he used:
- “Frank Ragnow can stay home.”
- “Anyone still hanging on to the idea that Ragnow… can swoop in and stabilize this unraveling season is clinging to a fantasy.”
- “Inserting Ragnow into this mess isn’t a solution. It’s a distraction from the larger, more uncomfortable truth.”
These are not subtle criticisms. These are full-blown declarations that Ragnow’s return, the return of one of the best offensive linemen in the entire league over the past seven years, is meaningless at best and harmful at worst.
That is objectively false.
The Lions’ number one issue over the last month has been the offensive line. Jared Goff has been under siege. Protection breakdowns have wrecked drives before they could start. The run game has lost consistency. Communication has suffered. These are exactly the areas in which Frank Ragnow makes a tangible, immediate difference.
Calling his comeback “a distraction” is wildly off-base.
Ragnow Isn’t a Savior — But He Absolutely Matters
Chirco argued, “No one player… is going to be able to come in and rectify all the team’s woes.”
Well… of course not. Nobody has suggested Ragnow is a cure-all.
But to leap from “he can’t fix everything” to “he should stay home”? That’s not a logical jump, it’s a leap into negativity for the sake of negativity.
Ragnow has been, for the better part of a decade, one of the greatest centers in football. He has steadied blitz packages, fixed protection calls, opened running lanes, and elevated the entire offense around him. His return does not guarantee a playoff berth, but it could absolutely re-stabilize the unit that needs help the most.
That’s not “fantasy.” That’s football.
Calling Out the ‘Loser Mentality’
Saying that Ragnow’s return “isn’t a solution” and declaring the Lions’ season bleak in late November is exactly the kind of fatalistic, premature surrender that Dan Campbell’s locker room rejects entirely.
This is the same franchise that battled to 15–2 last year.
The same coach who turned a 1–6 team into a playoff contender.
The same core that fights every single week, regardless of setbacks.
To dismiss them in Week 13, and to dismiss Ragnow specifically, isn’t tough criticism. It’s giving up early.
This Team Still Has a Pulse
The Lions are 7–5 with:
- Elite offensive weapons
- A young, hungry defense
- A coaching staff that has pulled this team out of ruts before
- And now… their future Hall of Fame center returning
Does that guarantee anything? No.
But to act like Detroit is already dead, or that Ragnow should “stay home,” is the type of perspective that folds when adversity hits. Detroit fans expect better from their team, and should expect better from the writers who cover them.
Bottom Line
Frank Ragnow coming back is not a distraction. It’s not a fantasy.
It’s not meaningless. And it’s definitely not something to tell him to “stay home” over.
Some local writers are ready to throw in the towel.
I am not that writer.
The Lions aren’t done.
The season isn’t over.
And Frank Ragnow is exactly the type of player who can help flip the script, whether some people want to admit it or not.
Click here if you want to read the full article from Vito Chirco.
