After spending the first two-thirds of the 2025 season on his couch, Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow announced on Wednesday that he is un-retiring from the NFL on Wednesday and returning to the Detroit Lions.
This announcement means that Ragnow will now likely be on the field when the Lions travel to face the Minnesota Vikings inside U.S. Bank Stadium in a Week 17 showdown on Christmas Day.
It's pretty significant news, especially since Minnesota's defense was able to generate a ton of pressure when they beat Detroit earlier this season.
Ragnow's return will certainly make that performance much harder for the Vikings to duplicate, but that's also assuming he will be back to playing at a Pro Bowl level by the time the two teams face off in Week 17.
How much will the Week 17 battle with the Detroit Lions matter for the Minnesota Vikings?
At this point in the season, no one is expecting Minnesota to be involved in any meaningful games for the rest of the 2025 schedule.
The Vikings have a 4-7 record after their first 11 games, and they're about to start an undrafted rookie at quarterback in a tough road matchup against a very good Seattle Seahawks team.
In order for Minnesota to have any shot at making it into the playoffs this season, they would basically have to win each of the final six games on their schedule, and even if they do that, there's still no guarantee that it would result in a playoff berth.
Despite the Vikings' postseason chances currently being as low as possible without actually being zero, their Week 17 contest against the Lions could still have some meaning to it, as Minnesota could potentially play the role of spoiler.
Detroit is likely still going to be in the hunt for first place in the NFC North and a spot in the postseason by the time it comes for them to take on Minnesota in Week 17.
So, how unfortunate would it be if the Vikings ruined the Lions' Christmas by delivering them an unexpected loss that could possibly prevent them from earning a playoff berth for the third season in a row?
The beauty of the NFL is that, unless your favorite team his just hot garbage and lives in the basement every year, pretty much every game remains meaningful until the very end of each season.
So while Minnesota might not have its own playoff spot to fight for by the time Week 17 comes around, fans will still have something to cheer for when the Vikings attempt to put a dent in Detroit's quest for a championship.