In the must-read, recently released book “The Football 100” written by various columnists from The Athletic, there's a section on former Houston Oilers running back Earl Campbell, who was voted the 67th greatest player in NFL history, according to the staff of The Athletic. Dan Pompei, who wrote the essay on Campbell, noted that Campbell's ultra-physical running style took a toll on him not only during his stellar, yet abbreviated NFL career, but also well after his career was over.

“Reminders also came in the forms of back and knee surgeries, arthritis in his hadn't so severed he could barely make a fist, nerve damage in his legs, memory loss, and panic attacks. Campbell depended on a walker and a wheelchair before he turned 50, and became addicted to painkillers prescribed to treat spinal stenosis.”

I note all of this because Frank Ragnow, the Detroit Lions All-Pro center, is the same age now (27) as Campbell was when Campbell's prime ended in 1982. For the first four years of Earl Campbell's career, there was not a better running back alive than the 1st overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft. In those first four seasons, Campbell ran the ball 1,404 times for 6,457 yards and 55 touchdowns. From that point on, the build-up of injuries plagued Campbell and he was never quite the same. He retired following the 1985 season, having only played in 115 career games.

Frank Ragnow, the Lions nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, now finds himself in a position where he needs to seriously weigh the toll that the game of football has taken on his body.

“It takes a toll on you,” Ragnow said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). “It really takes a toll on you, so I need to find a way to get back to Frank and I don’t regret any of this at all, but it weighs on you and I’m just going to take some time and really figure everything out to make sure that I’m feeling good, not only for me the football player but for me to be the best husband and best father and everything with that as well.”

Alper notes that Ragnow was on the Lions injury report multiple times throughout the season, “with knee, ankle, back, and toe injuries that included knee and ankle sprains that he suffered in the divisional round against the Buccaneers.” Looking back in the ClutchPoints archives, there are stories written in 2019, 2021, and 2022 on injuries that Ragnow suffered. This isn't unique to the 2023 season.

Ragnow is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, and again, he won't turn 28 until May. He's played only 80 games in his six-year career, but that's more than enough to do serious, long-term damage to his body.

Just ask Earl Campbell.