Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow has been dealing with a groin injury that forced him to miss practice Thursday, but the good news out of Allen Park Friday was that Ragnow was back on the field for the open portion of practice.
The team has officially listed Ragnow as questionable to play, so we’ll know 90 minutes before kickoff if he’s in or out. Speaking to reporters after practice Friday, Ragnow was cautiously optimistic he’d be ready to go by Sunday.
The Eagles have one of the better defensive fronts in football, so the Lions will miss Ragnow if he’s inactive, especially with starting right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai already ruled out of at least the first four games with a back injury.
The Lions do have a very capable backup in Evan Brown, who started 12 games for the injured Ragnow last season. Brown played pretty well in that role a season ago.
Can he keep Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis and the rest of the talented interior Eagles defensive front out of the backfield? And if Ragnow does play, how effective can he be playing with a groin injury?
Defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick by the Lions in this year’s NFL Draft, said Thursday he’s ready to unleash the beast. Hutchinson has been disruptive all through
training camp. He’s got a great matchup Week 1 against Eagles All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson and the rest of a very talented Philadelphia offensive line.
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The Lions recorded the third fewest sacks in the NFL last season and didn’t get enough consistent disruption on opposing quarterbacks. Hutchinson was brought in to do just that, and the Lions think he’ll help them be a better run defending team as well.
It was really a tale of two seasons for Lions veteran quarterback Jared Goff last year. He got off to a slow start the first half of the year after coming over in a trade with the Rams, but during the second half of last season, after Campbell
took over play calling and Ben Johnson was elevated to pass-game coordinator, Goff settled in nicely and played some pretty good ball down the stretch. His passer rating of over 101.8 in his last six starts was the sixth best in the NFL.
