David Montgomery is not currently on the trade block, but it sure does sound like some around the NFL expect that to change by the time the NFL Combine starts at the end of this month.
Montgomery, the Lions' "Knuckles" in their "Sonic and Knuckles" running back room, had expressed some displeasure with his role within the Lions' offense back in 2025. That offense, first led by John Morton and then by Dan Campbell, failed to rise to the expectations set to begin the season.
Now, Lions on SI's John Maakaron is reporting that Montgomery is expected to be shopped by general manager Brad Holmes at this year's NFL Combine because of how valuable he'd be to several teams in need of help at running back.
"With his experience and ability to break tackles, several teams could be interested in trading for his services. Detroit will learn much more about Montgomery's trade value in the next couple of weeks," one exec said. "This is now Jahmyr Gibbs' team, and that offense is not going to limit his carries. I expect Brad Holmes to have many conversations in Indianapolis about trading Montgomery."
Montgomery could be shipped out soon if latest intel is true
In addition to this nugget on Montgomery, Maakaron also reported that a name to watch for Detroit if they do part with Montgomery is an internal one: Sione Vaki. The Lions' fourth-round pick from 2024 hasn't gotten much burn with the team thanks to injuries, but according to Maakaron, the team still sees him as a nice fit in the offense.
That's not exactly inspiring to hear considering Vaki falls into that same category as Marcus Davenport does with this roster: would be great to see thrive, but it's almost impossible to do so thanks to their never-ending injury woes. Vaki shouldn't be the Lions' backup plan if Montgomery is gone without getting back a proper backup running back in return.
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Montgomery just finished up his "disappointing" 2025 with 716 rushing yards, eight touchdowns, and with 4.5 rushing yards per carry. That's absolutely nothing to sneer at, and it's surely why some around the league suspect Detroit is ready to sell high on him. He's still under contract until 2028, but his deal is unbelievably light if another team wanted to scoop it up.
Detroit must get the run game established again in 2026 in order to succeed. While it could be more difficult to do that by dealing Montgomery, it allows them to also zero in on a plan to build out an offensive line catered to Gibbs' style.
Plus, who's to say that the team can't swing a deal that lands them a starting center - one of their biggest offseason needs in order to get their run game back to 2024 levels?