One of the most pressing decisions for the Detroit Lions this offseason is what to do with running back David Montgomery.
Montgomery has been a huge asset for the Lions in recent years as part of a duo with Jahmyr Gibbs that is one of the best at the running back position in the NFL.
However, Montgomery’s role decreased in 2025 and now there are questions about his future in Detroit, especially after general manager Brad Holmes left the door open for the Lions to part ways with him in 2026.
“[Montgomery is] a good football player and wish that we would’ve been able to get more utilization from him (last year). I know Dan (Campbell) feels the same way,” Holmes said. “But those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player. He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah, would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here, then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
After seeing what went down in 2025, and after seeing Holmes’ comment, Pride of Detroit’s Jeremy Reisman labeled Montgomery a cut candidate for this offseason.
If the Lions do intend on parting ways with Montgomery, they will likely try to trade him first, but teams may not be keen on picking up what’s left of his $18 million contract.
Three teams we could see having interest in Montgomery, either through trade or free agency, are the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans.
Seattle’s question mark at running back stems from the pending free agent status of Kenneth Walker.
While we expect Walker to be back in Seattle, his market could be competitive enough that his price is higher than what the Seahawks are willing to pay. If so, Seattle would have a big hole to fill.
The Broncos have their own pending free agent running back in J.K. Dobbins, who played at a high level last season before once again succumbing to injury. With injury regularly being an issue for Dobbins, the Broncos could part ways.
The Texans also have a murky situation at running back. The expectation is the team will cut Joe Mixon after he missed all of last season and the team needs a veteran to complement Woody Marks.
Montgomery is a grinder whose power running style would best fit in Houston and Denver because of the ideal complement he would be to Marks and Harvey, respectively.
If the Seahawks do need to replace Walker, they would be better served targeting a more explosive back to complement Zach Charbonnet (assuming he’s healthy in time to play in 2026 after a torn ACL), who has a similar style to Montgomery.
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