The Detroit Lions have Graham Glasgow and Tate Ratledge competing for the starting center job vacated by the retirement of Frank Ragnow. On Tuesday, head coach Dan Campbell strongly hinted he may have made a decision already.
Thanks to the retirement of Frank Ragnow, the Detroit Lions have a competition for the starting center job in training camp.
The battle is between veteran Graham Glasgow and rookie Tate Ratledge, with the clear edge going to Glasgow thanks to his experience. Glasgow has over 2,600 snaps at center in his career while Ratledge didn't play the position at Georgia.
Both players have received reps at the position in training camp, but head coach Dan Campbell admitted on Tuesday that Glasgow has been particularly good over the last few days of practice and it looks like he's ultimately going to get the nod.
"We just finished two days with Graham back at center with pads and it's looked pretty good," Campbell said. "Its looked pretty dang good. I think every day that it looks pretty dang good, it gets a little clearer, so it's good to have him in there."
"And, look, this is good for Tate, too, to get these right guard reps," Campbell added.
Glasgow's experience is significant. Playing center isn't just about blocking, as players also have to recognize defensive fronts and call out protections, among several other pre-snap responsibilities.
Ratledge has already admitted that getting all that down was going to take time, and while he might get it down pat eventually, he may not accomplish that feat before Week 1, which simply isn't fast enough.
While it seems Glasgow has done a better overall job at center than Ratledge, Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire noted that neither one has been particularly impressive with blocking.
With Glasgow now in line to win the center job, Ratledge will likely take the right guard job, and second-year lineman Christian Mahogany should start at left guard.
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