I know it hurts Detroit Lions fans, but it’s over. Rip off the band-aid. David Montgomery has been traded to the Houston Texans, and now the next question is what will happen in the backfield?

Personally, I think the Lions’ most logical move is to either move forward with Sione Vaki or grab a guy in the draft, but there are some options out there in free agency. Let’s take a look at five of them.

Brian Robinson Jr.

Robinson backed up Christian McCaffrey for the 49ers in 2025 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 backed 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.

Tyler Allgeier

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’re 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.

Rico Dowdle

A veteran coming off a strong season with the Panthers, where he put up 1,076 yards and six touchdowns. The problem for Dowdle is that teams might see him as a bit long in the tooth to be an RB1 for them, but they might see him as someone who can take that Montgomery role in a league that now wants to build their backfield like the Lions had theirs.

So if that’s the case, why not go and grab Dowdle yourself if you’re the Lions?

James Connor

Connor just had a career season with Drew Petzing in Arizona. This one writes itself that he would come to Detroit to pair up with Jahmyr Gibbs and try to keep that good run with Petzing going. The good thing is that the Lions are getting a guy who already knows what Petzing is looking for, and he can sort of help install that along the way.

We did a film study not long ago on how Petzing used Connor and how it could lead to what they do with Montgomery if they were to keep him. Well, now you can see how Connor could work in the Lions’ offense.

Rachaad White

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.

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