The Lions' Week 6 victory over the Bucs came at a cost: David Montgomery suffered a rib injury and will likely miss time.
Dan Campbell said Detroit's lead running back "got a little something in the cartilage, so he's probably going to be down for a little bit here."
“I don’t know how long. At his position, that’s not an easy thing to deal with. We’ll just take it as it comes, but I think there’s a chance we won’t have him for a bit," Campbell said Monday.
Campbell wasn't sure, as of Monday afternoon, whether Montgomery could be headed for a stint on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least four weeks. He said the Lions will have a better idea as the week progresses and they see how Montgomery responds to treatment.
On the bright side, running back Jahmyr Gibbs is trending toward a return this week against the Ravens after missing the past two games with a hamstring injury. Campbell said he feels "a lot better about Gibbs" after the 12th overall pick "ran really well" during a workout last Saturday and "had another really good workout" Monday.
Rookie defensive back Brian Branch, who's missed the past two games with an ankle injury, and tight end James Mitchell (hamstring) are also "trending the right way" in terms of returning this week," said Campbell.
Assuming Gibbs is healthy moving forward, it doesn't sound like the Lions will add a running back even if Montgomery misses a few games. Campbell said they feel good about the depth between Craig Reynolds and Devine Ozigbo and "we’ve got other guys that we can use on the roster at that position, probably in the receiver room is where that could come from."
"So we'll do what we need to do to make it through this if that’s the case and all we have is those two, but I trust those two to be able to handle what we need to handle," Campbell said.