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Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery went down in the fourth quarter of the Bears’ 24-14 win over the Detroit Lions with what looked to be a painful knee injury.
The third-year running back was dicing the Lions’ ‘D’ up before the injury, netting 106 yards and two scores on 23 carries. Montgomery has 309 rushing yards and three scores on the season, and he has been the best part of the Bears’ offense through the first four weeks, but they could be forced to play without him for the next several games.
Montgomery clutched his knee immediately after being tackled, and he appeared to be in a great deal of pain after the play. Bears’ head trainer Andre Tucker walked the 24-year-old running back to the locker room, and he did not return.
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Sports Medical Analyst: Montgomery Likely Sprained His MCL
Doctor David J. Chao, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medical analyst who routinely — and correctly — assesses various injuries to NFL players, often predicting when they’ll return, thinks Montgomery is headed for the injured reserve list:
“By video, Montgomery injured his left knee when he was tackled on a 5-yard run. He ended up at the bottom of a pile and there was not a very clear view, but we have significant worry for an MCL sprain for Montgomery. The 24-year-old was helped to the locker room by athletic trainers. … He has a good chance to end up on IR and miss the team’s next three games,” Chao wrote about Montgomery’s injury after the game on October 3.
Montgomery has been a workhorse for the Bears since his arrival in 2019. He had his first 1,000+ yard season last year, and he finished fifth in the league in rushing. He picked up right where he left off this season, entering Week 4 ranked fifth in rushing yards while averaging 3.2 yards after contact per carry.
After the game, Bears head coach Matt Nagy didn’t give much of an update on Montgomery, but he dropped a bit of a bomb on reporters: Montgomery’s backup, Damien Williams, is also hurt.
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Bears May Be Bringing in Some RBs This Week
Nagy confirmed Montgomery’s injury was a knee, but he also revealed Williams suffered a quadriceps injury in the win, via SB Nation’s Lester A. Wiltfong:
Williams had eight carries for 55 yards and a score against the Lions, and he was filling in for Montgomery in the fourth quarter, which is when he was likely injured. We’ll see how significant both injuries are, but if Chao is correct and Monty is placed on injured reserve, he’ll miss at least three games, and that will hurt this Bears offense.
Right now, rookie Khalil Herbert is third on the depth chart behind both Williams and Montgomery, and Ryan Nall is the only RB on the practice squad. Thus, it’s looking like Chicago is going to be working out some additional backs this week.
Chao may be wrong, however. He merely predicts injuries based on video analysis coupled with his expertise and history working with athletes.
Right now, it looks like he may have avoided an ACL tear, which would be ideal. For what it’s worth, Montgomery tweeted the following after the game, which seems like a good sign, so we’ll see what happens.
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