Everything we know about the David Montgomery and the Detroit Lions saga

All the quotes and all the twists and turns

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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There have been so many twists and turns in the story for David Montgomery and the Detroit Lions. II might be hard to keep up with all of it. So we put this story together. Here’s everything we know:

Lions GM Brad Holmes talks about trading Montgomery during his year-end 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? Is it somewhere else? or whatever the case may be. 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.”

This is kind of where the whole thing started. I mean, there were Instagram posts during the off-season that displayed Montgomery’s dissatisfaction. But this is the first time any talks of trades were seriously had.

Jahmyr Gibbs says it’s all up to Montgomery at the Pro Bowl

“Of course I want David back,” Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs told the Detroit Free Press at the Pro Bowl. “The whole team would want David back, but it’s ultimately up to him. He’s going to do what’s best for him and his family, and whatever he decides to do, I’m going to support 100%. But of course we want him back, though.”

This gels with exactly what Holmes was saying. This whole thing, from start to finish, has always appeared to be completely up to Montgomery.

David Montgomery talks like a guy who plans to play for the Lions in 2026

“The really good teams have the rarity of having two really good guys (at running back), and Jahmyr is one of, if not the best, running backs in the league, and I believe I’m a damn good back myself,” Montgomery said. “Every chance I get to showcase myself, I will. I just think having us both together and us both being as selfless as we are, I think it’s really important. It’s something special to be a part of.”

This moment threw a wrench into everything we thought we knew. It seemed totally over until this point. Then it became a total mystery.

Drew Petzing talks about how he’d love to have both Gibbs and Montgomery

“You’re always going to try to find ways to get your best players on the field. And you know, whether that’s 25 times a game or five times a game, I think that it has to be something you’re considering, finding ways to do, finding ways to be creative. And I also know no one’s going to play 100% of the snaps, or if they do, they’re not going to make it through 17 games. So it’s a balance and a fine line of there’s also times you got to find time to get them a break and get them a blow so that they can make it through a four-month or five-month NFL season. So it is kind of finding that balance. But yes, when you have two players of that dynamic ability, you want to find things that they can do together on the field, because it puts stress on the defense.”

Brad Holmes’ comments at the NFL Combine reaffirm that everything is not totally figured out

“I’ve been in touch with David’s agent and his representation also. Look, we love David. He’s a great player. We’d love to have him.” Holmes said. “Kind of want to put last year in the rear view and just move forward, but obviously a player has to want to be at a certain place as well, so those conversations are still fluid, and it was kind of see how it goes.”

Now we’re back to this again. Things seemed to be trending the right way, and then it turned back to maybe Montgomery doesn’t want to be in Detroit anymore.

ESPN’s NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reports that Montgomery wants out of Detroit

“Lions’ David Montgomery wants out, has a reasonable contract (owed $6 million in 2026) and is 28. That has value. Word out of Indy is that Detroit would want a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder) in return. Seattle makes sense here if it can’t re-sign Kenneth Walker III.”

If you look at all the quotes from Brad Holmes and Jahmyr Gibbs, I mean, this fits exactly what we’ve been hearing all offseason long.

Montgomery sort of refutes that report

The biggest problem I have with this is that Montgomery might be disputing the report, but he also doesn’t just flat-out say he’s staying, and I think that is how a lot of Lions fans took this. Those fans could wind up with broken hearts or be pretty mad if this turns out to mean nothing and he gets traded anyway.

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