Roary
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- Mar 18, 2019
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USA TODAY Sports
Matthew Stafford will be a Ram when the trade sending him to Los Angeles becomes official on March 17.
Lions center Frank Ragnow is excited to play with Jared Goff, who will go to Detroit as part of the deal. But during an appearance on the “Unrestricted with Ben Leber” podcast, Ragnow made it clear he’s going to miss Stafford.
“Matthew Stafford, I don’t think anyone will ever be able to top my favorite teammate ever,” Ragnow said, via PrideOfDetroit.com. “Toughness, passion, competitiveness, everything. I can’t say enough about the guy, and I’m excited to see what he does in Los Angeles.”
“He is a dude. He’s the ultimate dude’s dude. I just can’t say enough about the guy. He’s so cooler-than-life. Maybe that’s because I’m so much younger and I grew up watching him, but I just look at him like a superhero.”
Stafford was the No. 1 overall pick in 2009, and had been in the league for nine years when Detroit picked Ragnow at No. 20 overall in 2018. But they developed a strong connection, with Ragnow appreciating Stafford’s knowledge of the game.
“He’s a savant when it comes to reading defenses,” Ragnow said. “Blows my mind. It got to a point, so I would make a lot of the protection calls, but he would know. He would know a call he wants to do and he would switch it — he obviously had last say — but I would make the switch and he would be like, ‘There we go, buddy. I was waiting on you.'”
It’s likely those qualities that made the Rams want to trade for Stafford. Time will tell if Ragnow and Goff can develop the same sort of connection.