All-Pro's retirement swells Rams sense of urgency with Matthew Stafford

The Los Angeles Rams may never have benefited from the stone wall protection of four-time Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow, but Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford did. Ragnow started with the Detroit Lions as a left guard, but flipped to hike the football to Stafford in his second NFL season. He started as the center for Stafford for two seasons, and then for former Rams QB Jared Goff for the next four.

Today, Ragnow has informed the Lions that he is retiring. That continues to add to the stack of complications for an NFL team that has already lost its offensive and defensive coordinators this offseason. Now, losing a glue-guy on the offensive line makes the Lions' efforts to reclaim the NFC North Division title a bit more challenging.

Since the Rams must face the Lions this season, I'm okay with that:

But Ragnow played on the same team as Stafford, and he is still under 30 years old. Hanging up the cleats may not be front and center on the mind of the Rams veteran quarterback. But this is the type of news that certainly places the thought of retirement at the back of someone's mind.

Frank Ragnow's NFL career is a case study of overcoming injury and adversity. He has played through the pain frequently, with injuries to his ankle, groin, throat, back, knee, foot, and pectoral muscle, to name a few. While some injuries were repaired with medical intervention, others were simply tweaks to his body that forced him to play through the pain.

Now, as he turns 29 years old, he plans to prioritize his health and family over his NFL career. That's a powerful message, and it sticks in the minds of other NFL players. But you have to expect that type of statement will hit home with his former quarterback.

By the time Ragnow joined the Lions, Matthew Stafford was already entering his 10th NFL season. That's right, his career was already longer than Ragnow's career. So learning about Rangow's decision is bound to make Stafford and his family sit up and take notice. Professional football is a violent sport, and injuries are part of the game.

Fans hope that Stafford will play through the 2026 season. But there are no guarantees, no assurances. The future is unknown. And it's the uncertainty that creates probabilities. Nobody needs to be alarmed at the Rams' quarterback situation for 2025. The team has Stafford, veteran Jimmy Garoppolo behind him, and third-year Stetson Bennett behind them both.

But 2026 is a different matter altogether. Garoppolo's contract expires. Bennett will enter his contract year. And the team and Stafford must reconvene to determine if it makes sense to both parties to stay together for one more season. At some point, the answer will be no.

The Rams took a gamble by not pursuing a young quarterback in either the 2024 or 2025 NFL Draft. Of course, facing a 2026 NFL Draft with two Round 1 picks does make that the logical place to shop for the right quarterback. But the Atlanta Falcons may have a good season, devaluing their pick. And if the Rams and Falcons picks both fall in the latter half of the draft, the team will be forced into wheeling a dealing to move up by sweetening the deal with other picks.

Will the right quarterback fall to the Rams in next year's draft? Will the team get one more quality year out of Stafford in 2026?

Hopefully, the Rams can have Stafford's successor on the bench to learn from Stafford before that happens.

As always, thanks for reading.

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