Frank Ragnow weighs in on the Lions moving Penei Sewell to left tackle

Frank Ragnow weighs in on Penei Sewell’s move. The former Lions center breaks down the challenge of switching sides on the offensive line — and why it might not matter when you’re talking about a player like Sewell.

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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From left, Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow (77), offensive tackle Penei Sewell (58), guard Kevin Zeitler (71), and guard Graham Glasgow (60) look on from the visiting team tunnel before taking the field for the first half against Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The biggest thing the Detroit Lions are doing ahead of the 2026 season is moving All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell to left tackle.

Now, this isn’t that crazy of a thing at the end of the day. Sewell has played left tackle in the NFL before. The first eight games of his NFL career were at left tackle while the Lions waited to get Taylor Decker back from injury. Sewell did just fine there, but he’s obviously morphed into something way better since then. Beyond that, he also played left tackle at Oregon, and his play there is the reason he got picked seventh overall.

On Friday, we got a chance to talk to former Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow at his fourth annual Rags Remembered skeet shoot event, and we asked what he thought about the move and what it takes.

Frank Regnow gives his thoughts on Penei Sewell moving to left tackle

“It’s extremely difficult, especially when you know he had been playing right for a while.” Ragnow said. “There’s so much muscle memory, there’s so much balance and weight, this position that you have to kind of, I guess, reteach yourself, but it’s Penei Sewell. So I’m not too worried about it.”

Of course, he laughed, and everyone else laughed when he said, “But it’s Penei Sewell.” That’s been really the thought from just about everyone. If you asked Sewell to play power forward for the Pistons next season, he’d probably figure out how to do it and do it well enough to start.

Sewell should be expected to be just as good a left tackle as he’s been at right tackle. Tristan Wirfs, making the switch for the Buccaneers and not missing a beat, is the outcome you can really point to as the Northern star of how well this switch can work. And we all think Sewell is better than Wirfs, so there you go. We’ll know if there’s any trouble with the move at camp, but we’re not expecting much.

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