Some Lions fans were briefly fooled this week after a satirical piece from The Onion claimed that first-year offensive lineman Tate Ratledge asked coach Dan Campbell for Thanksgiving off so he could enjoy his mom’s pecan pie. Despite the obviously ridiculous premise—and the fact that it came from a well-known parody publication—plenty of people apparently bought it.

In the fake story, Ratledge was quoted as saying he didn’t want to miss his family’s annual holiday gathering or his grandma’s stuffing, joking that he’d already had to cancel a number of weekend plans due to the NFL schedule and hoped he wouldn’t have to bail on Thanksgiving, too.

What’s more surprising than the joke itself is how many people took it seriously. Ratledge said he heard from “a lot of people” who thought the article was legitimate, and a team staffer even told him that a fan called a local sports talk show to complain about the imaginary request.

It’s funny—but also a reminder of how easy it is for people to get misled online, especially with satire, trolls, and AI-generated content circulating everywhere. Still, believing a rookie player tried to treat an NFL holiday game like a PTO request? That one should’ve been an easy catch.

If Detroit ends up defeating the Packers on Thanksgiving, Fox ought to hand Ratledge a turkey leg. The guy is giving up his holiday with family to suit up for the Lions, after all.