The Detroit Lions seem like they’re pretty close to breaking up the Sonic and Knuckles duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery after Brad Holmes’ comments from his end-of-season presser.

“Those are discussions that we’re gonna have to have a lot more in-depth in terms of what is the best plan for him going forward? You know, is it? Is it somewhere else? or whatever the case may be,” Holmes said. “But just really appreciate everything that he has done for us.” Holmes said. “If it does end up going that way, I hope it doesn’t, because we love David Montgomery. He’s a good football player, and I wish we would have been able to get more utilization from him. I know Dan (Campbell) feels the same way.

“But, you know, those are conversations that we’re going to have to have, because we’ve got a lot of respect for that player. He deserves to be in a situation where his skill set can be utilized. We’ll love it for it to be here, but if it can’t be here, you know, then you have to just see what you can work out the best for him.”

If the Lions do trade Montgomery, here are five running backs they could have their eyes on to replace him:

Brian Robinson Jr., free agent

Robinson backed up Christian McCaffrey for the 49ers this year after San Francisco traded for him. Robinson runs the ball pretty similarly to Montgomery. They’re both power backs who have some shiftiness to them, and they both back up two of the premier elusive backs in the NFL.

The difference is that Robinson is a younger back, and he works really well in goal-line situations. If the Lions plan to feature Jahmyr Gibbs more than anything, Robinson would work best in that situation. He’s not like Montgomery in the sense that he can be super shifty and part of the pass game every now and then. But what he can bring is a power back who can run that clock down when needed and get those extra yards.

Tyler Allgeier, free agent

Montgomery and Allgeier are constantly compared because they have similar games. North-south runners who can absorb contact and keep going. Montgomery usually edges him out, but if the plan is to move forward with Gibbs as the main focus and not do the two-running-back thing like you used to, Allgeier is a great short-yardage back and very good in the red zone.

But he showed not long ago that he can run for 1,000 yards in a season if the Lions want to use him like Montgomery. This is as close as they can get in free agency.

Rachaad White, Free agent

White is maybe a little closer to Gibbs in terms of play style, but that can be a good thing. He’s solid in the receiving game and can give Jared Goff another target that the Lions can use in space.

But you’re not likely to get the same type of power out of him. Again, it really all depends on what the Lions’ plan is outside of Gibbs.

Kaytron Allen, Penn State draft prospect

Allen and Montgomery are pretty much the same exact player in terms of traits. Only one is a draft prospect, and the other is proven. Allen runs hard, he’s shifty, and he can take passes. He is just a really good pairing with Gibbs. The Lions can currently get him in the third or fourth rounds.

Sione Vaki, Lions running back

This makes the most sense because the guy is already here. We’ve seen what Vaki can do as a running back in the preseason and occasionally in the regular season during blowouts.

He’s looked good in those cases. What he looks like in the full-time spot of being a running back is a bit unknown because the Lions are essentially making him into one. He was primarily a safety in college and only played running back there out of necessity because of injuries. He deserves the shot to show if he can do it.

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