Among the litany of injuries the Detroit Lions are dealing with coming out of Week 2 is a thigh bruise for running back David Montgomery, which may sideline him for a couple weeks. In a move to protect against Montgomery's potential absence, via his agent and passed along by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Lions are elevating running back Zonovan Knight from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
Knight was the odd-man out when the New York Jets signed Dalvin Cook, and the Lions smartly snapped him up to add depth to their running back room on the practice squad. Now, with Montgomery possibly (if not likely) out for a bit, that move is set to pay off.
In seven games for the Jets as an undrafted rookie last season, after Breece Hall suffered a torn ACL, he had 85 carries for 300 yards and a touchdown along with 13 catches for 100 yards. Over his first three games, he had 230 rushing yards and 10 catches.
What does Zonovan Knight bring to the Lions' backfield?
Look at Knight, and you will see a lot of similarities to Montgomery--build, running style, etc. As noted by Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit, per Pro Football Focus, Knight was second in missed tackles forced from Week 12-18 last season (29).
Last year from Week 12-18, Zonovan Knight was 2nd in the NFL in forced missed tackles, trailing only Josh Jacobs.
— Jeremy Reisman (@DetroitOnLion) September 19, 2023
On Monday and reiterated on 97.1 The Ticket Tuesday morning, head coach Dan Campbell pointed to going with a committee backfield if Montgomery is out, so as not to overload Jahmyr Gibbs.
"We’re going to get him (Gibbs) going, get him some more work. And we’re going to do things that he does best," Campbell said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "We’re going to ask him to do things that we feel like he can excel at, but we do feel like there’s a lot of things he can do. I don’t think he’s limited to one scheme or one thing, but we’re still, even with him, it’ll be by committee. We’re going to use all of those backs that go to the game, if we don’t have D-Mo."
So Knight is in line for a solid amount of work if Montgomery is out, with Gibbs and Craig Reynolds involved too. He was a capable kickoff returner in college at NC State, so he could get a shot there too.
Knight is on the Lions active roster now, and there's a good chance he does not go back to the practice squad after Montgomery is healthy.