‘Bad shit’s going to happen:’ On Tate Ratledge, the Georgia tragedy & cutthroat NFL life

The Detroit Lions starter opens up. Subscribers can access in full. Ratledge does not disappoint. His story is the plight of all pro football players.

Aug 21, 2026

Tate Ratledge is a 6-foot-6 tatted creature created in a Dan Campbell Lab. Of course this guard from the SEC rocked a mullet through college. Of course the Detroit Lions head coach coveted an offensive guard who was booted from four daycares as a kid.

When I was planning out our season-preview features at Go Long, the intrigue was this new union.

Turns out, there’s a hell of a lot more to Ratledge’s story.

Starting with the night in college that changed his life forever. Ratledge lost his best friend on the Georgia football team: Devin Willock. The events of that tragedy stay on his mind, but he’s also a man impervious to pain. Physical, emotional. His face never changes. This is a player who represents the necessary, callous psychology of an NFL player.

From our story:

“This is going to sound really fucked up,” he begins. “I’m not a huge believer in mental health.”

As a human being, that may not be ideal.

As a professional football player, it can be a superpower.

Football never stops. Football has progressed from owning Sundays to now owning Christmas. Nothing stands in the shield’s way. No holiday’s too important, no injury’s too severe. Players break bones, tear ligaments, suffer brain trauma, are quite literally scooped off the turf, stuffed into an ambulance and the sport just… keeps… moving. Let’s not forget the NFL played games six days after one player nearly died on the field. All 32 teams essentially high-stepped over Damar Hamlin’s body and played on.

Weak minds do not last. Compartmentalizing is often an impossible fantasy.

Callousness is endemic to the sport.

The Detroit Lions are all business. Everyone knows the time to win is NOW.

Ratledge could be the brawler who tips the balance of powers in the NFC North.

Our entire piece is available to Go Long subscribers.

Features

Tate Ratledge feels no pain

Tyler Dunne

11:56 AM

“Dev’s gone.” Those words changed his life. Meet the Detroit Lions ass-kicker who knows he’s a cold, “numb” product of his Athens, Tenn., upbringing and the night in Athens, Ga., he’ll never forget.

Read full story

New here? It’s a perfect time to upgrade and access all 2026 NFL Season Preview Features linked below. (We’ve got more big ones cookin,’ too.)

A few soundbytes from Ratledge below…

Roots.

Oh, he’d receive his share of corporal punishment in the boonies of Tennessee. Mom’s wooden spoon made an appearance or two.

“I got disciplined when I needed to be disciplined and loved on when I needed to be loved on. I couldn’t ask for more. It’s why I turned out the way I am today.”

Jan. 14, 2023.

Georgia had just celebrated its championship through downtown Athens. This was supposed to be the pinnacle of everyone’s football lives. Instead, there’s one image Ratledge cannot shake. When he said his goodbyes at 1:30 a.m., he knew something was… off. For a while, it was hard for him to shake the guilt.

“I knew she was hammered. I knew it. I just didn’t know she was driving.”

Kirby Smart Effect.

You heard similar tales from Javon Bullard when the Packers nickel back broke down how he plans to supply his team a killer instinct.

Life is different in Athens, Ga.

You know, even if a staffer accidentally spills all the water in-transit. Yes, everyone was still required to complete that team run as temps climbed into the triple digits. Ratledge brings this world to life.

“He changed me as a person for the better. I owe everything to Coach Smart. He built me to who I am. He believed in us and he was hard on us. That’s how I was raised. Dad was always hard on me for certain things and I wouldn’t want it any other way from my coach. So Coach Smart obviously pushed us in ways we hadn’t been pushed before. And then aside from being a tremendous coach? He’s a player’s coach. You just love him.”

“Numb.”

When his wife cries, he’s never sure what to do. Ratledge will ask the dog to console her. No, he’s never been a man in touch with his feelings. Yes, he knows his nature is both blessing and cruise. In this cutthroat world of pro football? It’s certainly a gift. As Campbell loves to say, this sport is a “freight train coming.”

Our story explores this dynamic in full.

“I hear somebody say they’re depressed? Stop being fucking sad. That’s my mindset. I’m never too high. I’m never too low. I’m just even-keeled. I’m not going to have something happen that fucking explodes my life and ruins my whole week. I might let it affect me for a day.”