The NFL offseason is officially in full swing. with all 32 teams shifting their attention to building for next year. A surprising deal rattled the timeline this morning with the news that David Montgomery has been traded away from the Detroit Lions and will be suiting up for the Houston Texans next year, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Trade Details & Grades:
Full Trade:
- Lions Get: 2026 4th round draft pick, 2027 7th round draft pick, OL Juice Scruggs
- Texans Get: David Montgomery
Lions Grade: B-
There was concern for the future of David Montgomery since the moment the Lions selected Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick in the 2023 draft. But across the three seasons, splitting the backfield opportunities with Gibbs, Montgomery has tallied 2,506 yards and 33 total touchdowns. Detroit has had one of the most dynamic offenses in the league, with both Gibbs and Montgomery playing their roles at a high level.
However, nothing is meant to last forever, and Gibbs being extension eligible seems to be the trigger that puts an end to the Montomgery era in Detroit. The 28-year-old spent the first four seasons of his career with the Chicago Bears and has since been with the Lions. Despite Gibbs establishing himself as one of the most talented individual offensive players in football, Montgomery has consistently made a positive impact and provided a nice contrast in running style. It is unfair to call him replaceable based on the level he has played at in recent years. But the reality is Gibbs is the higher impact player in Detroit’s offense, and the writing seemed to always be on the wall that this would be a reality.
It is difficult to quantify what a proper return is for a player with strong importance in the locker room and on the field. But given the continued growth of Gibbs and Montgomery kicking off the first season of his two-year $18 million extension, the organization made the calculation that these funds could be better allocated elsewhere. Montgomery was a third-round pick in the 2019 draft when he came into the league, and getting a pair of late draft picks along with an intriguing offensive lineman is a solid return. For reference, Tank Bigsby was traded for a fifth and sixth-round pick by the Eagles in September, and Brian Robinson fetched a single sixth-round pick from the 49ers when he was traded in August. There has not been a running back to get above a fifth-round pick in a trade return since D’Andre Swift in April of 2023, although the Eagles and Lions also swapped seventh-rounders in this deal.
It is also evident that getting Juice Scruggs was important to the Lions in this deal. The 26-year-old OL will be entering his fourth season in the NFL. He started 13 games in the 2024 season and made an appearance in all 17 games last year, although it was more of a reserve role. Originally drafted in the second round of the 2023 draft, Scruggs drew some impressive reports at the combine but has fallen out of favor a bit in Houston. This also comes right on the heels of the Texans’ trading away Tytus Howard to the Cleveland Browns after he had made 16 starts in back-to-back seasons for Houston. Dan Campbell wants to get back to the Lions holding a dominant identity in the trenches, and the Lions will hope Scruggs will look to help with this process.
Texans Grade: C+
It has become a theme of the Texans grabbing a veteran running back in need of a change of scenery and leaning on them at a high rate in their offense in recent years. Two years ago, Texans’ GM Nick Caserio traded for Joe Mixon, who rushed for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in the 2024 season before missing all of last year. Last year, Nick Chubb was brought in and produced a respectable 506 rushing yards and three touchdowns while splitting some carries. Montgomery will now join this career pathway and hopes to start a successful next chapter for himself.
The Texans’ running back room will now include Montgomery, Mixon if he can return to health, Woody Marks, and Jawhar Jordan. Marks had an impressive rookie season in which he made the most of his limited role, rushing for a team-high 703 yards on the ground, adding 208 receiving yards, and scoring five total touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how the touches are split up, but it is clear that Montgomery will be a key player in the rushing attack.
These are still just the beginning moves of some notable changes that each side should be expected to produce this offseason. Neither the Texans nor the Lions reached their expectations last year, with the Lions missing the playoffs outright and the Texans being eliminated 28-16, in which C.J. Stroud threw four interceptions and caused some concerning discourse with his level of play.
It will be interesting to see what Stroud’s outlook is moving forward with Houston. After seeming like he was on the pathway to being one of the brightest young quarterbacks in the league for the next decade, the Ohio State product has shown some concerning regression and not been at his best in the big moments. Houston committing to building up a strong running game is one pathway to easing pressure on the quarterback, but there is still plenty of work to be done on the roster. Montgomery should be viewed as a positive addition that will help this team, but not to the level that drastically changes the organizational outlook if this is their biggest offseason change.
