'It was time’ for Lions to move on from Montgomery
Mike Florio and Chris Simms react to the Detroit Lions reportedly trading David Montgomery to the Houston Texans, discussing why the move made sense for both sides.
Video Transcript
You have to deal with this Jahmyr Gibbs, and he was a first-round pick, and he steals some of your carries.
How do you deal with that mentally?
I mean, that would drive me crazy if I was you.
I wouldn't say dealing with it- Right and I wouldn't say stealing.
Okay.
I would say y- you on a team where you get the luxury of having two guys like that.
And, I'm a competitor just like anybody else who's playing at a high level in a professional- Right sport.
You know, everybody wants to play and everybody wants to be involved, so, but the good thing about this thing is I'm a, I'm an incredible teammate and I'll do whatever it is that I need to do to ensure that my team is, you know, going in the right direction.
David Montgomery still adhering to that mindset undoubtedly as he is traded, although it won't be official until next Wednesday at 4:00 PM Eastern, to the Houston Texans from the Detroit Lions.
You said to him he's a starting running back.
He had all of zero starts in 2025.
Yeah.
I'm surprised by that.
Right.
He had 14 in '24, 14 in '23 with the Lions.
Before that, he was with the Bears.
He had never had fewer than eight starts in a season in his four years with Chicago.
He had zero last year.
So Jahmyr Gibbs became the starter.
It was a career low rushing yards last year for Montgomery with 716, career low rushing attempts with 158.
He clearly had taken a backseat to Jahmyr Gibbs, and with Gibbs on the brink of getting paid, it was only gonna get worse.
It was time.
The Lions knew it was time.
He knew it was time, and next Wednesday at 4:00 PM Eastern, it will be time for the trade to become official.
Either side can back out until then, but for now, Montgomery from the Lions to the Texans, and that's our top story for today, and we just kinda jump right into it.
You know, sometimes I like to shoot the shit for a while, Gary.
Sometimes we get forced right into it.
Today, we're forced right into it.
I'm just playing.
Uh- I'm playing, Gary.
yeah, you, you didn't have to go right into it.
You, you went right into it.
He played a clip, you decided to go right into it.
Now we're into it, and now our friendship banter is done for the day, so let's move on to business here.
All right?
So, but either way You know I know when it's gonna come back.
but, but yeah.
I, I mean, o- one, was that surprising news yesterday?
yeah, sure, because it's a, it's a guy that is really a, a starting co- a running back, of that caliber.
So I think that's where it's like, hey, it's big news.
Whoa, he's a good player.
But not shocking.
I, I think we all know, like you just explained, Jahmyr Gibbs is the man.
Jahmyr Gibbs, we argued two years ago when you talked about David Montgomery making 14 starts where we had a lot of times on here and you heard me yell going, "They're giving David Montgomery the ball too much.
They need to give the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs, you know, more."
And that wasn't disrespect to, to, Montgomery, David Montgomery, at all, because he's a damn good football player.
The problem is Jahmyr Gibbs is one of the five best offensive players in football.
That's the problem.
Jahmyr Gibbs is score anywhere, anytime guy, and there's only a few of those guys in football.
So this year, yeah, they made the, the assertion of that that's our guy, we're gonna feed him the ball, we're gonna throw screens, we're gonna game plan for him more.
And David Montgomery kinda got left in the dust a little bit.
But even being left in the dust, 700 yards rushing, you still see the skills there.
And for a team like the Houston Texans who would like to run the ball and play that and play through their defense and play action there, and they have a need at the position, made a lot of sense for them to make that move.
So good for David Montgomery, and it's good for the Houston-
