Wednesday open thread: Which injury will hurt the Lions the most in 2021?

The Detroit Lions are aching right now. An unfortunate combination of their best players and their high-potential young players are ailing with long-term injuries, many of them season-ending. That list includes Jeff Okudah, Trey Flowers, Taylor Decker, Tyrell Williams, and Ifeatu Melifonwu. This past Sunday, the list grew by two with Romeo Okwara and Frank Ragnow, both arguably Lions’ best players on either side of the ball to start the season, let alone now.

Question of the day: Which injury will hurt the Lions the most in 2021?

My answer: I think losing Okwara will hurt, but losing Ragnow will hurt the most.

Ragnow has solidified himself as the best center in the NFL, and that goes well beyond blocking. When running an offense, especially a new offense, the center has a lot of responsibilities in terms of identifying blocking assignments and directing where and how the offense will operate.

Now, to the blocking aspect, the Lions will miss Ragnow a lot there too. To say he has been a huge part of the Lions’ revitalized running game would be an understatement. To take him away from an already hampered offensive line is going to sting.

The good news is that, while Ragnow is slated to miss extended time, there’s no indication of his injury being season-ending. Nonetheless, his absence is going to be noticeable in the coming weeks.

Your turn: which player do you think the Lions will miss most due to injury in 2021? Let’s hear it.