4 spots the Lions could trade David Montgomery to and what Detroit can get back

The Lions can get their best return from the NFC West.

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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I know it’s not something that Detroit Lions fans want, but your favorite team trading David Montgomery seems more real than ever before this offseason, especially after Brad Holmes’ comments at 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. 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 had 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.”

So the Lions might be going the Matthew Stafford route here: trade this player to a team he wants to join or to a team that can best utilize him. We went through the league and identified four teams the Lions could send Montgomery to. Here’s what we got, why, and what the Lions could get back

San Francisco 49ers

For starters, there are some connections here. Montgomery and Brock Purdy played together at Iowa State, and here’s their chance to reunite. On top of that, the 49ers have been looking for the best guy to pair with Christian McCaffrey, and Montgomery is that guy. The Lions could maybe then add Brian Robinson in free agency, and it’ll look like a player trade.

What the Lions can get: A 2026 fourth-round pick. This would be a compensatory fourth-round pick, so it would be at the bottom of the round and almost a fifth-round pick. This is probably the highest pick they can get for Montgomery.

Atlanta Falcons

Two things here: the first is that the Falcons’ running backs coach, Michael Pitre, was Montgomery’s running backs coach with the Bears. The other is that a pairing with Bijan Robinson probably gives Montgomery his best chance to be Knuckles somewhere else. I don’t know what character that makes Robinson, but it is what it is, I guess.

What the Lions can get: 2027 fourth-round pick. That’s the issue with Atlanta: they have nothing to trade this year.

Cincinnati Bengals

This one is pretty simple. This is Montgomery’s home, and who doesn’t want to play for their hometown team? The other thing is that this is Montgomery’s real shot to get a ton of carries. The Bengals’ run game is one of the worst in the NFL, and they could use some help. He and Chase Brown could be fun together.

What the Lions can get: 2026 fifth-round pick.

Las Vegas Raiders

Montgomery can both play that Knuckles role and that big brother role with a young Ashton Jeanty in Las Vegas. The Raiders would probably love to establish Fernando Mendoza’s run game in 2026, and having this dual-back system would work for sure.

What the Lions can get: 2026 fifth-round pick

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