NFL Lineman Goes Through the Ice While Ice Fishing

When the ice gets thin, the fishing has to wait.

There's a connection between retired NFL players and the outdoors. Perhaps it's the parallels of American tradition, or maybe it's nothing more than gritty-natured men needing a new avenue to channel their masculinity.

NFL lineman Frank Ragnow is no different, co-hosting a YouTube channel called "Grizzly Man Outdoors" in his free time.

The Detroit Lions center, drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, films his hunting and fishing adventures with his brother, Jack.

While they have one South Texas hog hunting video on their channel, their other seven videos feature freshwater fishing expeditions up north in Minnesota.

In this particular video, Ragnow is attempting to go ice fishing on a small pond adjacent to his backyard, but the thickness of the ice is suspect.

Despite his skepticism, he decides to walk out onto the ice to a deep-enough place to start drilling, but quickly notices the red flags indicating unsafe ice.

Before he has a chance to change directions, he falls through the ice, right into freezing waters cold enough to cause hypothermia.

Make no mistake, Ragnow was fortunate to fall in shallow water, as this could've been far worse.

Ice fishing can be a lot of fun, but safety has to be the first priority no matter what. Had this water been deeper, Ragnow could've had a hard time finding the hole through which he fell.

This isn't the first time a fisherman has fallen through ice, and surely won't be the last, but at least this time the angler walked out unscathed.