Broncos may have obvious trade to add playmaker after surprise retirement

On Monday morning, interesting news was announced. Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow announced his retirement from the NFL on his Instagram account at the age of 29. The former 2018 first-round selection revealed that he is hanging up the cleats after seven seasons in the Motor City, which included 4 Pro Bowls and 3 Second-Team All-Pros.

With Ragnow's retirement, the Detroit Lions will have a big hole at the center position, the anchor of the offensive line heading into the 2025-26 season. Detroit has had a top-tier line in the past couple of seasons, and Ragnow has been a key to their success.

Following the news of Ragnow's retirement, a former Bronco is listed as the starting center in the Lions' unofficial depth chart. This veteran is Graham Glasgow, with Michael Niese and Kingsley Eguakun as backups. None of the mentioned backups has started a game in their young NFL careers. Glasgow has played for the most part of his career at guard, and has experience at center. This presents and interesting scenario for the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos should trade one of their centers to the Detroit Lions:

Like Detroit, Denver's offensive line has been top-tier, with center being their weakest position. I am not saying it has been bad. It has just been the weakest, and also they have multiple good options as potential starters, which could help the Lions.

For me, Denver should try to trade Luke Wattenberg to Detroit following Ragnow's retirement. The former fifth-round pick is entering the final year of his contract, which means that he is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. The Broncos have Alex Forsyth, a former seventh-round selection from Oregon, who has seen action and has performed well, and additionally, they spent big money following the 2025 NFL Draft to secure one of the best undrafted free agents, specifically Clay Webb from Jacksonville State. Webb is a former All-Conference and All-American, who is expected to make the roster in year one.

The Broncos should send the former 5th-round draft selection, Luke Wattenberg to Detroit to get a fresh start and potentially earn a second NFL contract, while also adding draft capital, and try to get Jameson Williams. Williams is a former first-round pick who has been injured and suspended, but when healthy, he is a beast. Denver needs explosiveness in their offense, and a fresh start for the Alabama product could make sense. He has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate since the season was over; it's win-win scenario for both teams. It is important to mention that Detroit selected Isaac Teslaa early in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Sean Payton has ties with the Lions' head coach Dan Campbell from their time together in New Orleans, which could facilitate a potential trade.