DETROIT — Frank Ragnow's return to the Detroit Lions has taken a brutal and stunning turn for the worse.

Just days after Ragnow and the Lions announced his intentions to unretire and return to the team, the Lions released a statement on Saturday morning saying that Ragnow failed his physical and will not be rejoining the team this season.

According to the statement, Ragnow reported to the team facility on Friday, one day after Detroit's 31-24 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Green Bay Packers, and failed the routine meeting with Detroit's medical team because of a Grade 3 hamstring strain "that will keep him from participating for the remainder of the regular season."

Lions coach Dan Campbell told reporters on Saturday that Ragnow disclosed "something in there" with the hamstring, "we just didn't know the severity of it until we had the final physical and all the tests were run, that we do with anybody we bring in. So, we had an idea, we just didn't know it was gonna be to that extent."

Campbell added, "Of course, we're disappointed, just because Frank's such a good dude and a great teammate, and he's a productive player. But at the same time, he's injured, too. So, man, you quickly move off of that and to know what it is. He's not playing. It's all good, man. We adjust, we move on. We're on to Dallas now."

According to Campbell, no discussions took place regarding Ragnow's interest in returning for the 2026 season.

"That was never discussed," Campbell confirmed. "It was just, once we realized the severity of it, he did — it just, that's where it went. Nothing was discussed past the news that you guys just got."

The statement from the Lions concluded, "Frank has always been a team-first guy and is a true warrior. He will forever be a Lion."

Ragnow, 29, retired during this past offseason after seven NFL seasons, all with the Lions. According to teammates, he had been considering his return to the team for about five to six weeks, eventually deciding to pull the trigger on the deadline to come out of retirement this past Wednesday.

The news was music to the ears of the Lions, who have struggled mightily to replace his presence on the interior of their offensive line, even when healthy. Alas, his return will not happen.

Detroit is currently dealing with injuries to all of its original starters on the offensive line, with left guard Christian Mahogany (leg) currently on injured reserve and center Graham Glasgow (knee) having missed Detroit's game against the Packers on Thursday.

The Lions have used Kayode Awosika in Mahogany's spot and started Trystan Colon in place of the injured Glasgow against Green Bay. Campbell said he hasn't gotten any recent updates on Glasgow, but "I know he feels better. ... But that's about as far as it's gone."

Regarding Colon's start against the Packers, Campbell said, "I thought he did some good things. There was some things that weren't as well, there was a little up and down. But I thought he brought a lot of energy. I thought most of his IDs were on point. I thought he did some good things. I think the more he plays, the better he would get, too."

Nothing new on St. Brown

Campbell said Thursday that he'd "know more tomorrow" regarding the ankle injury to star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, but didn't provide much further information when asked on Saturday morning outside of the fact that St. Brown could technically be considered day-to-day.

St. Brown left Thursday's loss in the first quarter after getting rolled up on by a teammate while engaged with a defender and did not return.

Campbell maintained that he doesn't believe the injury is a long-term concern, but it could cause him to miss a game or two. Detroit plays the Cowboys on Thursday in a pivotal game for the NFC playoff race and travels to face the Los Angeles Rams, owners of the league's best record (9-2), the week after.

"Nothing new. I mean, I do think long-term it sounds like it's good news, but there again, what is long-term?" Campbell said. "I don't know what that means for a week, or even two, right now with him. It's really a day-to-day thing, but beyond that ... we feel like this is something that would calm down and be OK long-term, which is good news."

St. Brown leads the Lions in receiving yards (884), receptions (75) and receiving touchdowns (nine).

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