Frank Ragnow’s broken throat has kept him out of account for the past two weeks, a period in which Ragnow was completely focused on maintaining his vocal cords for the future.
This meant that Ragnow could not speak at all for two weeks. During this time, he is called a Pro Bowler, something a player can celebrate with his family or friends with a phone call. Not Ragnow.
“I wanted my mom FaceTime and literally could not talk to my mom,” Ragnow said Friday via the team’s official website. “It was just frustrating to want to celebrate with my family because they were very excited.”
Ragnow could return to Detroit’s final game of the 2020 season on Sunday, after participating in the Lions’ practices in a limited way this week and ending up on the injury report at the end of the week as doubtful (throat).
He sounded better during his first visit to media members since suffering an injury in a game against Green Bay, and admitted that using his voice in the long run was more important than being in a few games in the late season to play.
“The biggest concern over the last few weeks has been my vocal cords and my voice in general,” Ragnow said. “Otherwise I would have tried to be out there, but I did not want to waste my voice all my life.”
It was not easy to miss time, Ragnow said, especially when Ragnow knew he was physically good, he just could not speak – an important ability for a linebacker responsible for the call for the rest of the group. Ragnow admitted that he felt guilty for not playing, but he took some advantage of his quiet time, even if it was not good with his important person.
“My fiancé was not too happy with me, because, you know, I would use it to my advantage,” Ragnow explains with a slight smile. “Like ‘Hey, can you wash dishes?’ Can’t speak, I can not answer, and all sorts of things. ‘
Ragnow said he does not know exactly how it happened, but believes his throat fracture was caused by pillows that hit him in the neck in a strange way. Ragnow said he knew something was wrong when he struggled to speak, comparing the sound of his voice to the broken squeaking chew toy of a dog.
Eventually he learned of the nature of his injury and followed the doctors’ guidance to heal his injury. Since the Lions were out of contention and played under an interim head coach, Detroit’s chances did not entirely depend on Ragnow’s participation.
He is now on track to fully recover, going on to become one of the league’s most promising young centers in 2021. We’ll see if he can get a final chance this season, but his future remains bright – with his voice intact for the road ahead.