Lions running back David Montgomery is expected to miss multiple weeks following a thigh injury suffered in Week 2 vs. Seattle.
The former Iowa State standout was in the midst of another solid ground game, when he went down hard near the Seattle sideline at the 3 minute mark of the 3rd quarter. Montgomery was eventually carted off, and was seen limping after the game where he told reporters he would be out for “a couple of weeks”.
The 5’11” RB posted 67 yards and a TD on 16 carries on Sunday, giving him 141 rushing yards and 2 TDs in his first year with his new team. More importantly, the Lions would eventually relinquish their lead and fall to Seattle 37-31 in overtime after Montgomery left the contest.
Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs finished with 7 rushes for 17 yards and 7 catches for 39 yards through the air on the day in relief. The Lions obviously have a ton of confidence in the Alabama back whom they selected 12th overall in this year’s draft. However through two games the game plan was clearly to use Montgomery as a feature back and ease Gibbs into action as the veteran had out touched the rookie 37 to 14 after two contests.
While the loss is obviously disappointing for Lions fans, a deep bruise isn’t overly serious and could see the former Chicago Bear back on the field sooner rather than later. Since joining the league in 2019, Montgomery has only missed 6 games throughout his career.
A similar injury to Tony Pollard last year ultimately only cost him one game, meaning Gibbs could feature heavily in a showdown with the Falcons in Week 3, before returning to his normal workload in Week 4 if Montgomery is able to suit up.
Currently sitting at 1-1, the Lions are in the thick of things in a log jammed NFC North. After their date with Atlanta, Detroit will have another Thursday night game, this time vs. Green Bay. That short week could prove important as the Lions then have 10 days off between Week 4 and Week 5.
If Detroit opts to be cautious with their prized free agent acquisition, Gibbs could be in line for high usage days over the club’s next two contests.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.