Lions trade David Montgomery to Texans

Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News on Mar 2, 2026

Published in Football

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DETROIT — The David Montgomery saga has finally come to an end.

After a few days of public back-and-forth, the Detroit Lions are sending Montgomery to the Houston Texans, according to multiple reports. NFL Network and The Athletic reported the compensation going back to Detroit is center Juice Scruggs, a fourth-round pick and a seventh-round pick. It's unclear what year each draft pick is for.

Montgomery all but confirmed he was leaving the Lions, penning a goodbye to fans on social media.

"Please know this: Everything I do next carries a piece of Detroit with it. The work ethic. The edge. The heart," he wrote in the final paragraphs. "Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for pushing me. Thank you for walking in this chapter with me. I'm beyond grateful — and I'll always be proud to say I was shaped by this city."

Montgomery, 28, played three seasons in Detroit. Last week, Lions general manager Brad Holmes said he would like to have Montgomery back after a season in which Montgomery's usage was limited significantly by the team's inconsistent rushing offense, but noted that "a player has to want to be at a certain place."

"We love David. He’s a great player. We would love to have him. Kind of want to put last year in the rearview and just move forward," Holmes said.

On Sunday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Montgomery wants out, which Montgomery immediately disputed on social media, posting, "Dam, Dmo told you that ?" on X.

Apparently, where there was smoke, there was fire. Montgomery will now start anew in the Texans' backfield, while the Lions will have to backfill Montgomery's role as RB2. Detroit will incur $4.8 million in dead cap and $3.5 million in cap savings for the 2026 season.

Montgomery played three seasons in Detroit after signing as a free agent in 2023. He carried the ball 562 times for 2,506 yards and scored 33 touchdowns. He was a big part of a Detroit backfield that became one of the best in the league under former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, forming a multi-faceted tandem with Gibbs that earned them the nickname "Sonic and Knuckles."

A third-round pick by the Bears in the 2019 NFL Draft, Montgomery has played seven NFL seasons in all, rushing for 6,115 yards on 1,477 carries (4.1 yards per carry) and 59 TDs. He also has 1,890 yards on 231 career catches, including four more TDs.

Scruggs, 26, has 20 starts in three NFL seasons and has not yet lived up to the hype that surrounded his game when he was selected with a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. But he also has experience at every interior offensive line position, and is a perfect example of the type of competition that coach Dan Campbell was hoping to add for 2026 training camp. Scruggs is entering the final year of his rookie deal.

It's a tidy bit of business for Detroit even outside of the Scruggs acquisition. Initial reports from Fowler said Detroit was seeking a fifth-round pick for Montgomery; they got something better than that and then some.

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