What David Montgomery Injury Means for Lions

Examining Lions' plan to replace David Montgomery’s production.

It's time for the Detroit Lions to embrace the "next man up" mentality at the running back position.

David Montgomery, who exited the Lions' Week 6 contest with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prematurely, is now expected to be sidelined for a bit with a rib cartilage issue. 

In previous weeks, Montgomery had clearly emerged as Detroit's No. 1 running back and the team's go-to back in the red zone, absorbing all of Jamaal Williams' goal-line carries from a year ago.  

In fact, Montgomery – formerly of the Chicago Bears – already has six touchdowns on the season. And, in Weeks 4 and 5 (in wins against the Packers and the Panthers, respectively), he ran for 100-plus yards in each contest.

So, having Montgomery go down – and likely miss multiple games – is a crucial blow for Ben Johnson's offense. 

Yet, it also presents rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2023 draft, with an opportunity to shine. The first-year pro has sat out the last two weeks with a hamstring injury, but is trending in the right direction and could return on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.

With Montgomery sidelined, there's no better time than now for Gibbs to deliver a breakout performance. Through four games, the Alabama product has accumulated 39 carries for 179 yards, good for a respectable 4.6 yards per rush attempt. However, thus far, the first-year back has failed to find the end zone, and has been unable to crack the 100-yard mark on the ground.

In Montgomery's absence, the Lions will not only deploy Gibbs more actively, but it will also rely on reserve backs Craig Reynolds and Devine Ozigbo more heavily. 

Outside of Montgomery, Reynolds and Ozigbo, who was elevated from the practice squad last week, were the only two Detroit backs active for this past Sunday's tilt with Tampa Bay. Reynolds, who's in his third season with the Lions now and has become a fan favorite over time, delivered a crucial block on Amon-Ra St. Brown's second-quarter touchdown against the Buccaneers.

Expect Reynolds and Ozigbo to once again be a part of Johnson's offensive gameplan in Baltimore. And, as Dan Campbell indicated Monday, the Lions could also get creative and deploy a wide receiver as part of their ground game.  

"We’ve got other guys that we can use on the roster at that (running back) position, probably in the receiver room is where that could come from," Campbell told reporters. "So, we’ll do what we need to do to make it through this if that’s the case and all we have is those two (Reynolds and Ozigbo). But, I trust those two to be able to handle what we need to handle.”

Interestingly enough, Detroit receiver Kalif Raymond received a carry in the team's Week 6 victory vs. the Buccaneers.

St. Brown has also periodically been used out of the backfield throughout his career. The third-year pro has amassed 17 carries for 160 yards and a touchdown in 38 career NFL games.

Meanwhile, an under-the-radar player the Lions could elevate from the practice squad is wideout Maurice Alexander. 

For the time being, I believe that the Lions will give the bulk of their carries to Gibbs and his running back counterparts Reynolds and Ozigbo. And, from time to time, Johnson will mix in the likes of Raymond and St. Brown. 

This strategy might not quite replace the production of Montgomery, but I believe that the combination of the above offensive pieces will at least be good enough to get Detroit through the next few weeks.