David Montgomery’s honest take on his Chicago Bears exit finally proves his true feelings for Chicago
Former Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery is headed to a new team in 2026 but still shared plenty of respect for the team that drafted him in a recent interview with James Deebo Harrison and Joe Haden.
When the Chicago Bears parted ways with former third-round running back David Montgomery, there was no hard feelings between the two sides. Things changed in the eyes of the fan base when Montgomery signed with the NFC North rival Detroit Lions and publicly criticized his displeasure of losing.
“That’s all I was used to,” Montgomery said back in 2023. “And it got to a point where it sucked the fun out of the game for me because I’m a competitor. I like to compete. That’s what football’s about. It’s so refreshing to be in a place where that’s appreciated.”
It was honest words from Montgomery, but it certainly boiled up the fanbase. That reaction got even hotter as Bears fans watched Montgomery total 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns with the Lions and posting three straight winning seasons.
However, years later, Montgomery gave a more honest explanation on his Chicago Bears exit that finally proved his true feelings for Chicago, the city and the organization.
David Montgomery shows respect for the Chicago Bears despite how things ended in 2023
“Honestly – because if I say this wrong, this could be viral – but, it was less of me being in Chicago. I think Chicago Bears fans think I didn’t appreciate Chicago. I love Chicago too,” Montgomery said in an interview with James “Deebo” Harrison and Joe Haden. “They were the team that drafted me, they traded up 11 spots to pick me. I appreciate for them being there. But, the time and the point of my life, I was a youngin. I came from nothing, like I didn’t have anything at all and you give me the most money I’ve ever had in my life…
“My job and my occupation in my life was to always take care of my family… We wasn’t winning and I wasn’t doing the things that I knew, and I thought, I was capable of doing in the first couple years. That time of me going through my personal stuff and trying to be an optimal football player, it wasn’t meshing.”
That’s a similar feeling other Bears players experienced during that time in Chicago. Winning was hard to come by and even the fans knew the light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t near as bright as other teams. Montgomery made the move to put himself in the best position to succeed, with no hard feelings involved.
“My time in Chicago, it was tough. It was hard,” Montgomery added. “But, it wasn’t because Chicago was bad or they were just terrible. I loved Chicago. I love the McCaskeys. It’s all love. It was just my time of where I was at in the position of my life.”
In his eyes, he just simply felt like he was failing with the Bears because of everything going on around him. A fresh start is the best thing Montgomery needed to achieve his own expectations for once, it just was unfortunate for Chicago fans that the rivals in Detroit were the ones able to provide that for him.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t appreciate the first three years he had in Chicago. He certainly did and wanted to set the record straight on that.