It sounds like David Montgomery has played his final game with the Lions.
After a season in which Montgomery had the fewest carries and touches of his career -- in the first year of a two-year, $18.3 million extension -- Brad Holmes said Thursday that the Lions have to consider whether Montgomery would be better off somewhere else.
"I know that it was a tough year for him in terms of the lack of touches," said Holmes. "I’m not going to say that we went into it planning for it to be that way. I thought he handled it like a pro, and so, look, those are discussions that we’re going to have to have, a lot more in-depth in terms of, what is the plan for him going forward? Is it somewhere else or whatever the case (may) be?"
Montgomery's contract makes him the 12th highest-paid running back in the NFL. But he finished 31st in both carries and touches this season, getting the ball fewer than 11 times per game as the Lions both struggled to sustain as many drives and prioritized Montgomery's backfield mate Jahmyr Gibbs, their most explosive player.
Montgomery averaged more than 16 touches per game over his first two seasons in Detroit. It sounds like both he and the Lions know that his time here is coming to an end.
"Just really appreciate everything that he has done for us, if it does end up going that way," said Holmes. "I hope it doesn’t, because we love David Montgomery. He’s a good football player. I wish we would’ve been able to get more utilization from him. I know Dan (Campbell) feels the same way.
"But those are conversations that we’re going 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. I would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here, then you have to just see what you can work out the best for him."
Montgomery carries an $8.3 million cap hit next season and $10.2 million the season after that. The Lions would save about $3.5 million in cap room next season and $7.8 million the following season if they trade him or cut him this year prior to June 1.