Lions Lowdown

Matt MIllen is suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease, and may need a heart transplant.

The former Detroit Lions president and chief executive officer has revealed his illness in an interview with Mark Wogenrich of the Morning Call.

Amyloidosis occurs when abnormal proteins called amyloids, produced in the bone marrow, build up in organs or tissue. Though there’s no cure, amyloidosis is treatable with chemotherapy (similar to multiple myeloma) to stop cell growth, according to the report.

“Doctors have said he needs a heart transplant, since his is working at about 30 percent of capacity. He has undergone chemotherapy most every Monday for eight months, and the side effects usually linger until Wednesday,’’ according to the story.

Millen was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in July after living with symptoms (chest pain, shortness of breath) for six years. By then, the disease, which has no cure but is treatable, had affected Millen’s heart to the point that a transplant became necessary, per Wogenrich.

His next step is visiting Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles for a second round of transplant evaluation. next week, according to the story.

Millen was hired by the Lions 2001 and fired in week 4 of the 2008 NFL season. His eight-year tenure led to the worst eight-year record in the history of the modern NFL (31-84, a .270 winning percentage). Millen was the architect of the 2008 Lions who became the first NFL team to go 0-16.

Millen, who played at Penn State, won four Super Bowls while playing for the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins.

He plans to return to the broadcast booth in the fall.

 

Didn’t see one mock draft with offensive lineman Frank Ragnow heading to the Lions with the 20th overall pick.

That does not mean it was a bad pick.

Lions GM Bob Quinn got his man. He said they liked Ragnow from the get-go when they watched film and interviewed him at the NFL Draft Combine.

Respected NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock had Ragnow rated as the 19th best draft prospect.

Bleacher Report’s Mike Tanier calls Ragnow “a potential steal.”

Here’s a look at grades from national analysts:

Chad Reuter, draft analyst on NFL.com — Grade: A … Detroit needed to get stronger in the middle, and did by picking Ragnow. He could play guard for now, or move to center if needed. Either way, he’ll move the line of scrimmage. Matthew Stafford feels better already.

Pete Prisco, CBS — Grade: B+ … He is the draft’s best center and can also play guard. The Lions have to get better inside, and Ragnow will make that happen.

Andy Benoit, MMQB — Grade: B … Picking Ragnow addressed the Lions’ weakness at left guard. Graham Glasgow will now move there, supplanting recently signed backup Kenny Wiggins. The Lions wouldn’t draft Ragnow if they didn’t believe he can be a force in the running game, which has been a deficiency the past several years in Detroit.

Yahoo Sports — Grade: B- … The Lions got a guy who will start for a decade and help alleviate running game issues while keeping Matthew Stafford happy. But Detroit needed a pass rusher.

Steven Ruiz, USAToday — Grade: B … The Lions continue to build up their offensive line by adding a nasty blocker who can play at multiple positions. Detroit could have gone for a running back to improve their dreadful run game, but Ragnow should make things easier for the backs already on the roster.

Walter Cherepinsky, Walter Football — Grade: A- … That sound you hear is the collective hearts of the Bengals’ front office breaking upon learning about this pick. Frank Ragnow was set to go 21st overall, but the Lions also needed a center, so they snatched the Arkansas product off the board. This is a solid pick. Ragnow is a terrific center who didn’t surrender a single sack last year playing in the SEC. He fills a huge need, which the Lions had after losing Travis Swanson in free agency.

Mike Tanier, Bleacher Report — Grade: B … The Lions offensive line ranked last in the NFL in adjusted line yards, according to Football Outsiders. Their running back play was terrible, but often there was simply nowhere for them to run. Frank Ragnow missed much of the 2017 season with an ankle injury. He could not participate in the Senior Bowl and only lifted at the combine, but he was a full participant at Arkansas’ pro day. Ragnow is a big mauler with pretty good balance and awareness. He adjusts to blitzes well, peels off to engage linebackers and finishes his blocks with hostility. Ragnow lets some defenders get low on him, negating his power, and may have trouble against quick, cagey interior defenders. But assuming his bill of health is clean, Ragnow is a likely starter and a potential steal. This is a solid pick, though with Harold Landry and others on the board (including a pair of centers who may be as good or better than Ragnow), it may not have been the Lions’ best selection.

(Photo courtesy of Arkansas)

ALLEN PARK >> Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn said it was a good opening night of the NFL draft. The Lions selected offensive lineman Frank Ragnow with the 20th overall pick.

“At that point in time it was a real easy pick. He was a guy we had our eyes on for a while and it worked out that way,’’ Quinn said in a post-draft press conference late Thursday night.

Ragnow was a three-year starter at Arkansas, playing center and guard. He met with the Lions at the NFL Draft Combine but hadn’t heard from them since.

“He’s coming back from injury that he missed the second half of the season with an ankle and other than the injury he was a real clean prospect that I didn’t feel we needed to do a whole lot of extra work on,’’ Quinn said.

The offensive line has been a priority for Quinn who is heading up his third Lions’ draft.

“I think it starts in the trenches, I think it starts up front. We want to build though the middle of our team, through the offensive line, defensive line, through the middle. That’s what we believe in,’’ Quinn said. “Going through the evaluation process, there were a number of players on the board we liked we just thought at the end of the day Frank was the best player at that time —- a guy who can help us the most and the quickest and we’re really excited about the pick.’’

With the Lions’ roster as it is, many draft analysts expected the Lions to draft a defensive lineman in the first round. At least two possibilities — Da’Ron Payne (13th to Redskins) and Marcus Davenport (14th to Saints) were gone before the Lions picked.

“Everything that happened in the first 19 picks affected who we picked, that’s how the draft goes,” Quinn said. “We had some of those defensive guys rated pretty high too. At the end of the day we got a guy we’re really happy about, liked from the start.”

Quinn said they had conversations going all night about possible trades. “We had multiple offers on the table for our pick,’’ the GM said.

But they liked Ragnow and were able to get him.

“The first time I watched him play on tape I thought this guy is a really good player. Going back the last couple weeks as we fine-tuned to see who might be available, it was pretty clear he would probably be there but we thought it was going to be close,’’ Quinn said. “We got some word from a few teams after us that they were interested in him as well so I think the time was right to pick him.’’

The Lions have picks in the second (51st overall) and third (82nd overall) rounds on Friday starting at 7 p.m. The draft wraps up on Saturday beginning at noon.