Earlier this week the Detroit Lions made waves by trading starting running back David Montgomery to the Houston Texans. While many fans are applauding the business decision, one Lions player was left very unhappy.
On the latest episode of his podcast, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown admitted that he was "sick" over the Montgomery trade because Montgomery was his favorite teammate. But he acknowledged that Montgomery had been relegated to the RB2 spot on the team in the wake of Jahmyr Gibbs' ascension and believes this trade will allow him to re-emerge as a starter.
“I’m sick, selfishly. I’m sick because I love D-Mo,” St. Brown said. “One of my favorite teammates. No matter what the situation was, we all knew that he wanted more carries and wanted to play more, he never made it about himself. He was always all about the team, which I know is hard sometimes, especially in his position. He’s an RB1 on 31 other teams. He’s damn near RB1 for us, but you got two guys, two really good running backs, only one running back can play, which kind of sucks. It’s kind of like a quarterback situation. Although running backs do rotate, only one running back plays. Whereas receiver, you can have two or three on the field. Selfishly, like I said, I’m upset but also I’m really happy for D-Mo because I know how much he wanted a bigger role in an offense and I think he’s going to have that in Houston.”
Montgomery and the Lions
Montgomery was originally a third-round pick by the Chicago Bears in 2019 and averaged over 1,000 yards from scrimmage per year for the year across four seasons. He joined the Lions as a free agent in 2023 and became an immediate impact player for the team.
2023 was a career-year for him as he ran for 1,015 yards while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. His 13 touchdowns not only helped the Lions reach the playoffs, he helped them reach the NFC Championship Game for the first time in decades.
But Jahmyr Gibbs had his breakout season the following year, and by 2025 Montgomery was a backup running back and goal-line touchdown scorer.
Montgomery will be 29 when the 2026 season starts and this may be his last chance to make a real impact before he hits the inevitable wall.
Will the Lions come to regret the trade?
