David Montgomery News

The Detroit Lions have reportedly signed running back David Montgomery to a three-year contract. Montgomery will stay within the NFC North after the 25-year old agreed to three-year deal with $11 million guaranteed. In offense ranked 14th in rush percentage last season, expect Montgomery to share carries with D'Andre Swift in a potential committee role. On 235 total touches in 2022, Montgomery ranked 44th among running backs with a 67.9 Pro Football Focus offensive rating while accounting for 1,117 scrimmage yards, 6 touchdowns, 46 forced missed tackles, and 2.9 yards after contact per rush attempt.

Montgomery is set to stay in the NFC North and join the Lions' backfield. His signing indicates Detroit is likely out on the Jamaal Williams' sweepstakes. Thus, the 25-year-old is presumably in line to split carries with D'Andre Swift. He saw the lightest workload of his four-year tenure in Chicago this past season, but still accumulated 801 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 201 carries to go along with 316 receiving yards and one touchdown on 34 receptions in 16 games.

In each of his four seasons, Montgomery has produced at least 1,074 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns. Over his career, he's rushed for less than four yards per carry, but he's handled at least 200 carries each season while missing just five games. He's also been solid as a receiver, having posted at least 301 yards in three straight seasons. Although he maintained his hold on the lead role in the backfield, Khalil Herbert cut into his workload and often appeared to be the more explosive runner. It's possible that Chicago lets Herbert take on the lead role in 2023 with Montgomery now an unrestricted free agent.

Other than Justin Fields as a rusher, the Lions completely stymied the Bears offense, which included Montgomery. With Chicago struggling to convert many first downs once the first quarter was over, there was little opportunity for him to accumulate volume. He'll hope to end the year on a high note at home against the Vikings in Week 18.

Montgomery had a touchdown called back on a holding penalty, which kept him from an even better performance. Even though Khalil Herbert returned to action after being on injured reserve, Montgomery has 16 carries to six for Herbert, as Montgomery still appears to have a handle on the lead role. He'll have a favorable matchup against a Lions defense that just gave up over 300 rushing yards to the Panthers last week.

While Herbert was sidelined for the past four games, Montgomery averaged 14.3 carries and four targets per contest, with both figures being marginally ahead of his season-long averages (13.2 carries, 2.5 targets). Herbert shouldn't be much of a threat to poach work from Montgomery on passing downs, but he'll likely earn more carries than the five per game that Darrynton Evans and Trestan Ebner combined for over the past four weeks. Even if the arrival of Herbert results in Montgomery forking over more snaps, there's a decent chance that both backs push for double-double digit touches against the Bills. Saturday's forecast in Chicago calls for sustained winds around 20 to 25 miles per hour as well as temperatures around 10 degrees Fahrenheit, which could prompt both teams to largely eschew intermediate and deep passes and favor the ground game more heavily.