The saga of Detroit Lions running back continues. The latest development comes from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who in his latest batch of of NFL Combine buzz said that Montgomery is prepared to the leave Detroit.
“And at running back, the Lions’ David Montgomery wants out, has a reasonable contract (owed $6 million in 2026) and is 28,” Fowler wrote. “That has value. Word out of Indy is that Detroit would want a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder) in return.”
But the Lions running back responded to that report on Twitter, seemingly refuting Fowler’s rumor.
The situation between the Lions and Montgomery has been back-and-forth all offseason. It began with Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ comments at the end of the season, which seemed to suggest that Montgomery was unhappy with how 2025 went.
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player. He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him,” Holmes said.
There was some optimism that the Lions had smoothed things over when Montgomery offered some hopeful comments during Super Bowl week in regards to playing with Jahmyr Gibbs.
“I just think having us both together and us both being as selfless as we are, I think it’s really important. It’s something special to be a part of,” Montgomery told NFL Network.
But when Holmes spoke again this past week at the NFL Combine, it sounded more like things remained where they were at the end of the season.
“We love David. He’s a great player. We would love to have him. Kind of want to put last year in the rearview and just move forward. But a player has to want to be at a certain place as well, so those conversations are still fluid and we’re just kind of seeing how it goes,” Holmes said.
Last year, Montgomery saw a significant decline in touches and playing time, as Detroit featured Gibbs more as the primary back. His carries dropped from 185 in 14 games (13.2 carries per game) to just 158 in 17 games (9.3). He went from averaging 27.9 snaps per game to just 24.0. While some of that could certainly be attributed to the Lions trailing in more games in 2025 than 2024, it appear Montgomery feels he’s not being used to his full potential.
Montgomery still has two years remaining on his contract with the Lions after signing a three-year extension in the middle of the 2024 season. He’s set to cost $8.4 million against the cap this year, with $4.9 million still guaranteed. If the Lions were to trade him, he’d clear up just over $3.5 million in cap space.
We’ll see where this goes. The Lions continue to express their desire to keep Montgomery around, but they have also said they would do right by the player. Things could heat up with the new league coming just over a week away on March 11.