The Detroit Lions will have the services of Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow today for their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field.
Ragnow has been dealing with groin injury suffered during practice on Wednesday, but it steadily improved throughout the week and he is active.
"It felt pretty good today," Ragnow said after returning to practice Friday as a limited participant after missing practice Thursday. "We'll see how it feels (Saturday) and then we'll go from there. It felt pretty good today. I'm cautiously optimistic, but we'll see what the coaches think and what the medical people think tomorrow."
Those evaluations Saturday must have went well, which is great news for a Lions offensive line already without starting right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai because of a back injury. The Eagles were a top 10 defense last season, led by a stout defensive line that is two rotations deep. Having Ragnow to anchor the center of the line is certainly good news for the Lions.
Detroit will have a plan to replace Vaitai at right guard, which will likely be third-year guard Logan Stenberg filling his spot. It likely would have been second-year guard Tommy Kraemer, but Kraemer has been dealing with a back injury this week and is inactive today.
Also inactive for the Lions are linebacker Julian Okwara, cornerback Chase Lucas, safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, tight end James Mitchell and defensive lineman Demetrius Taylor.
The team elevated running back Justin Jackson and linebacker Anthony Pittman from the practice squad to the gameday roster Saturday and both are up. The team also placed defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike on the Reserve/Injured list on Saturday, meaning he'll miss at least the first four games of the season.
