The Detroit Lions made an interesting roster move on Friday. They signed free agent linebacker Reggie Ragland, along with fellow LB Elijah Lee.
Ragland is the more renowned of the two new Lions. He was a popular object of Detroit fans in the 2016 NFL Draft wanting the physical LB from Alabama. Four years later, they land Ragland. It will be his third NFL team.
To find out more about why the Chiefs, like the Bills before them, moved on from such a touted prospect and impactful LB at Alabama, I turned to my good friend Charles Goldman. He is the editor of Chiefs Wire and someone I know has spent a lot of time watching Ragland.
Here’s what Goldman sent me via messaging when I asked him for his thoughts on Ragland and the fit in Detroit:
I’d have figured that Ragland would be a natural fit for the role that free-agent addition Jamie Collins is set to play for the Lions. It seems like Detroit has something else in mind or they’re stockpiling players with like skill sets.
Ragland has played a few different roles for the Chiefs over the years. Most recently in Steve Spagnuolo’s 4-3 under, he lined up as the SAM linebacker. He had some repetitions during the course of training camp as the MIKE & JACK linebacker spots but played them sparingly if ever during the regular season. In Bob Sutton’s 3-4 scheme, he was primarily utilized as a two-down thumper.
He’ll bring some juice rushing the quarterback and physicality against the run. He’s shown the ability to read the eyes of the QB and has a good feel for spacing in zone coverage drops, just don’t expect a lot of production there. He definitely doesn’t have the long speed to carry routes too far in man coverage.
In 2019, I think the thing Ragland proved is that he can be a team player. He played in the fourth preseason game, which usually is the kiss of death, especially as a veteran player. He made through roster cuts but was a healthy scratch through the first two weeks of the season. He didn’t play until Week 3 and even then it was only special teams snaps, and he hadn’t played ST before in Kansas City. Eventually, he worked his way up to a bigger role and started a total of seven games.
Thanks to Goldman for the detailed insight!