Nov 28, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow (77) stretches before the game against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images

On Monday, former Detroit Lion Frank Ragnow joined an NFL club that is starting to seem not-so-exclusive anymore when he retired from the NFL at the ripe age of 29. He announced the news in a heartfelt post on his Instagram. With Ragnow's retirement, the four-time Pro Bowler and three-time Second-Team All-Pro not only hung up his cleats, but he also left approximately $20 million on the table of his remaining contract.

Oh, and he's leaving a Lions team that won 15 games last season. Huh.

Given all of this context, it's not hard to see why Ragnow is walking away now. It's all about his long-term health, as he confirmed in his Instagram post:

"These past couple of months have been very trying as I’ve come to the realization that my football journey is ending and I’m officially retiring from the NFL," Ragnow wrote. "I’ve tried to convince myself that I’m feeling good but I’m not and it’s time to prioritize my health and my families future. I have given this team everything I have and I thought I had more to give, but the reality is I simply don’t. I have to listen to my body and this has been one of the hardest decisions of my life."

After years of repeatedly crashing into large men at the line of scrimmage, Ragnow is making the proactive choice to walk away from football's inherent brutality while he's still young and healthy. Nonetheless, it likely doesn't help that the Lions seemingly weren't willing to play ball with Ragnow about adjusting his contract and giving him more financial security. Perhaps the center would've been willing to stick around and play through pain if the Lions had given him more money.

But alas, it wasn't to be, so Ragnow decided continuing to play in the NFL wasn't worth it.

Ragnow joins a litany of big-name NFL players who have retired "early" in recent years while presumably having something left in the tank. Names like Andrew Luck, Patrick Willis, Calvin Johnson, and Luke Kuechly come to mind most. It's still a small sample size, but it feels like NFL stars are rightfully taking the long view of their lives outside of their careers more and more. At a certain point, the toll gets to be too much on their bodies.

And more power to them all on that front.

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After recent team dominance up front, Ragnow's retirement will leave a chasm at the center of the Lions' offensive line. And after already losing both his coordinators to head-coaching jobs this offseason, Dan Campbell now clearly has a hell of a coaching job ahead of him to keep Detroit afloat. The Lions may well take a massive step back as a result.

But that's not Ragnow's problem anymore. He's got bigger fish to fry, and it doesn't involve pads and helmets.

So, while the center's retirement shocked the NFL world, people understood where he was coming from:

Shout out to Ragnow for making his mark in the NFL and still seeing the forest for the trees. It couldn't have been an easy decision, but it's one we should all respect.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Frank Ragnow’s retirement at 29 staggered NFL world

Reporting by Robert Zeglinski, For The Win / For The Win

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