On Monday, NFL fans and the Detroit Lions were shocked by the surprise retirement of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow. While Ragnow cited his injuries as his reason for retirement in an Instagram post, there is speculation that contract disputes could have played a role in his retirement, too. That said, Ragnow stepping away leaves an unexpected huge hole in the middle of the Lions' offensive line.
Thus, since the news broke, there has been speculation that Detroit could trade for a center. On Wednesday, Mike Payton of A to Z Sports released an article exploring a trade with the New York Jets for center Josh Meyers. In the article, Payton cites his colleague Wendell Ferreiran for coming up with the trade.
Payton suggests that Detroit should send a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Jets for Myers, who is on a one-year contract worth $2 million. Let's explore if this trade makes sense for the Lions.
Lions Land Former Rival Center to Replace Frank Ragnow in Projected Trade
In 2021, Myers was drafted by the Green Bay Packers with the 62nd pick in the second round. The 26-year-old immediately stepped in as the team's starting center but did end up missing 11 games as a rookie due to a knee injury.
Thankfully, that knee injury was the only major time Myers has missed so far in his NFL career. In four seasons, he has allowed nine sacks, 11 QB hits, 58 QB hurries and 78 QB pressures, according to PFF.
Despite underperforming as a whole, Myers is coming off a decent 2024 campaign. In 2024, Myers had a career low in sacks allowed, one, and quarterback hits allowed, five. However, he set a career-high in quarterback hurries with 23 and quarterback pressures with 29.
On top of that, Myers is a better pass blocker than a run blocker as he consistently receives grades in the 60s and 70s for pass blocking and has yet to get a grade higher than 55.2 in run blocking, according to PFF. While Myers's struggles in run blocking don't fit the Lions' identity as a running team, he would be a cheap trade option that understands how to play the position in the NFL.
For the Jets, getting a seventh-round pick for their backup center doesn't sound like a terrible deal. Though Myers is a low-cost trade option, it's also fairly risky because he may cause issues with the front.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how the Lions deal with the fallout of Ragnow's retirement in the coming weeks.