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Detroit Lions place 3 on IR; is window still open for David Montgomery return?
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- Detroit Lions place 3 on IR; is window still open for David Montgomery return?
The Detroit Lions made a slew of injury-related moves to free up roster space Tuesday, but most notable perhaps was one they didn't make.
The Lions placed defensive tackle Alim McNeill and cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Khalil Dorsey on injured reserve Tuesday, two days after they suffered season-ending (or potentially so) injuries in Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills .
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The Lions formally signed linebacker Anthony Pittman from the Jacksonville Jaguars ' practice squad, signed cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver to their practice squad and released defensive end Isaiah Thomas from the practice squad.
But they did not place running back David Montgomery on IR.
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) runs for yards before being tackled Detroit during the game against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field in Detroit Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. Montgomery suffered an MCL injury to his right knee in the 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
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Montgomery injured the MCL in his right knee against the Bills, and Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday he likely will require season-ending surgery.
"Looks like he's going to require surgery that'll put him out for the rest of the year," Campbell said. "He had gotten it at some point yesterday in that game. I mean, David's so tough, man. He continued to play through and then got it checked out today and realized that's what it was.
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"He's just the ultimate teammate, ultimate competitor. We're going to miss him, man. He's another one of these guys that got us to this position, helped get us to where we're at and the rest of us, we owe him to keep going and make sure that wasn't in vain."
Montgomery, who has 775 yards rushing and a team-leading 12 rushing touchdowns through 14 games, still was assessing treatment options after undergoing testing on his knee Monday.
At a coat drive he hosted Tuesday, he told the team website he still was "working through some logistics and things could change" with his timeline.
Asked if there's a chance he plays again this season, he told the team website, "I hope so."
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The Lions (12-2) play road games the next two weeks against the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers before hosting the Minnesota Vikings in a regular-season finale that could decide the NFC North.
Jahmyr Gibbs is expected to handle the bulk of the workload at running back in Montgomery's absence, with Craig Reynolds and Sione Vaki playing as backups.
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline."
Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions place 3 on IR; window open for David Montgomery return?
