Getty Bears QB Justin Fields celebrates a TD with RB David Montgomery.
David Montgomery is in a contract year with the Chicago Bears, and his future with the team remains a question mark.
The fourth-year running back has been splitting time with second year standout Khalil Herbert this season, and the results have been impressive. Heading into Week 8, the Bears have the best rushing attack in the league, averaging 181 yards on the ground per game. A third-round pick for the Bears in 2019, Montgomery, 25, is in the final year of his rookie deal and is projected to have a market value of $9.8 million a year according to Spotrac.
Will the Bears try to keep him around and sign him to an extension, or might general manager Ryan Poles continue trading his team’s assets in exchange for draft capital? Poles has already traded top defenders Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn, so it’s possible he could continue being a seller.
Here’s the latest on what insiders around the league have to say about a possible Montgomery trade.
Buffalo Bills Named Potential Landing Spot for David Montgomery
Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News pegged Montgomery as a possible trade target for the Buffalo Bills considering the team’s current issues at running back.
“He’s in the final year of his rookie contract and carries a base salary of $2.79 million,” Skurski noted. “Montgomery is a favorite of the Bears’ front office and coaching staff, but the team has a capable replacement in Khalil Herbert ready and waiting. … He’d provide a definite boost as the No. 2 running back behind Devin Singletary and could be the power runner the Bills hoped they were getting when they drafted Zack Moss.”
But would the Bears be willing to trade away their best three-down back?
“If they already know they’re not going to re-sign Montgomery and they can actually get a midround pick for him, that makes sense. It wouldn’t be easy considering how beloved he is in Halas Hall, but, as they say, it’s a business,” Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic wrote on October 29, before his colleague, Adam Jahns, who co-wrote the column, provided a primary reason Chicago may keep Monty around:
“I can’t see the Bears moving Montgomery,” Jahns wrote. “They want to run the ball and they need him to do it. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to re-sign Montgomery after the season to maintain that one-two punch as a strength for another year or two.”
NBC Sports: Bears Don’t Want to Trade Montgomery
In the six games he has played this season (he missed the team’s Week 4 contest against the New York Giants due to injury), Montgomery has 77 carries for 308 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. Per PFF, Monty is averaging 3.25 yards after contact per attempt, and he has eight runs of 10+ yards and has forced 22 missed tackles. He also has 10 receptions for 113 receiving yards.
With this kind of production, Josh Schrock of NBC Sports reported on October 27 that Montgomery should be sticking around in Chicago — at least through the 2022 season. “It’s unclear if the Bears plan to sign him to a long-term extension or if they view Khalil Herbert as the starting running back in 2023 and beyond, Schrick reported, adding: “Sources told NBC Sports Chicago that the Bears are not interested in trading Montgomery at the deadline and are pleased with the one-two punch he and Herbert provide in the backfield.”
“We really like the one-two punch and we’re going to continue to do that,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said heading into Week 8 about the team’s running back situation, via 247 Sports. “They both bring an added element to the game for us, so we’re going to keep using both guys. We feel like that’s a real strength for us in our running game and in the passing game, so we’re excited about having both of those guys for us.”
While it’s possible Bills GM Brandon Beane might be interested in adding Montgomery — his team is currently sitting atop the AFC East with a 5-1 record and might get a boost from adding the Bears’ stud RB — it sounds as though Poles would have to get a pretty strong offer in order to let Monty go.