Indianapolis — Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes remains open to the possibility that his team and running back David Montgomery are headed for a split.
But it sounds like his preference is still to keep the veteran in the building.
Holmes said Tuesday at the NFL Combine that he’d love to have Montgomery back, but kept conversations between the two parties close to the vest.
“I’ve been in touch with David’s agent, his representation. We love David. He’s a great player, we’d love to have him (back),” Holmes said. “(I) kind of just want to put last year in the rearview and move forward. But obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place, as well.”
At his end-of-season press conference, Holmes stated that he’d be willing to move Montgomery if the running back was seeking greener pastures after a season in which his usage dipped considerably. He was arguably the biggest casualty of a Lions run game that took a serious hit in 2025 behind poor interior offensive line play. Since 2023, his first of three seasons in Detroit, Montgomery has seen his yearly carries dip from 219 to 158, and his yardage from 1,015 to 716.
Following up on the situation on Tuesday, Holmes said, “Those conversations are still fluid. We’ll just kind of see how it goes.”
“Those are conversations that I’ll keep in house,” Holmes said, referencing conversations between he and Montgomery’s representation. “I’ll say that I’ve had healthy dialogue at the end of the year, and I’ve had a healthy dialogue with his agent.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell, meanwhile, said he hasn’t had much conversation with Montgomery since the end of the season — “I like to give these guys their space and just let them kind of unwind a little bit in their own way,” he said — but that he would love him back and that Drew Petzing, the Lions’ new offensive coordinator, feels the same way.
“He knows how I feel. Drew loves him. I mean, who wouldn’t? He’s a heck of a back,” Campbell said. “So, we’ll … see where everything’s at, you know?”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions adamant they want David Montgomery back in 2026
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
