The Detroit Lions had a ton of turnover this offseason after falling short of the Super Bowl, notably losing both coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to head coaching job. But the Lions suffered a huge loss along the offensive line, as Frank Ragnow announced his retirement from the NFL. That left a huge void at the center position, but the team seemingly addressed it with the draft selection of Georgia's Tate Ratledge.
But much like other second-round picks, Ratledge had yet to sign his rookie contract. That was due to the Houston Texans giving a fully guaranteed contract to wide receiver Jayden Higgins, the first-ever for a second-round draft pick. But as of Wednesday, the dominoes began falling leading to a busy day of signings on Thursday. One of them was Ratledge.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that Ratledge and the Lions agreed to terms on his rookie contract. With that, Ratledge will be good to go for training camp, which is great news for the Lions.
The #Lions and G/C Tate Ratledge, the 57th overall pick out of Georgia, have agreed to terms on his rookie contract, per multiple sources. pic.twitter.com/qAkxJx84Jv
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 18, 2025
Lions avoid training camp drama by finalizing Tate Ratledge's rookie contract
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via OvertheCap.com), Ratledge's contract is $7.648 million total and includes a $2.21 million signing bonus.
As mentioned earlier, Ratledge has an important role on the Lions entering his rookie year. He is replacing Ragnow, a former four-time Pro Bowler. But Ratledge may have come from the best possible team to help out, and that was with the Georgia Bulldogs.
Ratledge was part of the Georgia dynasty teams that won back-to-back CFP National Championships. This past season with the Bulldogs, Ratledge played in 10 games, where he allowed just seven pressures, four quarterback hurries, two quarterback hits, and one sack on 500 blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
The thing is, Ratledge primarily played at right guard throughout his time at college. He's never a single snap at center. So, there is a learning curve for the rookie, and training camp can help with that.
The hope is that Ratledge can bring his success over from Athens to Detroit, so he can help give quarterback Jared Goff time in the pocket, while also opening up holes on the line of scrimmage for running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Now that Ratledge is putting pen to paper, they can get started on making that a reality.