One of the first bombshell trades of the early free-agency period took place on Tuesday when the Houston Texans acquired running back David Montgomery from the Detroit Lions.
The Texans sent over offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, a 2026 fourth-round pick, and a 2027 seventh-round pick in exchange for Montgomery’s services. Montgomery, a former third-round pick of the Chicago Bears, will turn 29 years old this summer, ahead of what will be his eighth season in the league. Naturally, the departure of such a beloved figure in the Lions’ locker room is bittersweet.
David Montgomery’s Teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown ‘Sick’ Over Running Back’s Departure
The NFL is a business, but there are two sides to the coin: Montgomery ventures to Houston for a new opportunity, while the Lions have to look ahead and enter a new chapter. Paired with dynamic tailback Jahmyr Gibbs, he and Montgomery formed the iconic “Sonic & Knuckles” duo, nicknamed as such for Gibbs’ game-breaking speed and Montgomery’s thunderous, powerful running style.
Gibbs will now be the featured back for the Lions, and ditto for Montgomery with the Texans.
“Selfishly, I’m sick because I love D-Mo,” said Montgomery’s teammate in Detroit, wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, on his podcast.
“He’s one of my favorite teammates. I feel like, no matter what the situation was, we all knew he wanted more carries and wanted to play more. He never made it about himself; he was always about the team, which I know is hard sometimes, especially in his position. He’s RB1 on 31 other teams.”
“Selfishly, I’m upset, but also I’m really happy for D-Mo because I know how much he wanted to have a bigger role on an offense and I think he’s going to get that in Houston.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown speaks on his good friend David Montgomery getting traded to the Texans 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/XWTL8VDnxO
— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) March 4, 2026
The Texans are desperate for someone to take the reins in their backfield. Fourth-round pick Woody Marks performed valiantly as a rookie and led the team with 703 rushing yards, while Nick Chubb, who was signed in June prior to the season, was a fine No. 2. Neither player was supposed to be in the position that they were in.
Former Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon suffered an unexpected, perplexing foot injury during the offseason that kept him out for the entirety of the 2025 campaign. He’s entering the final year of the three-year contract he signed with the Texans in the spring of 2024, but he’s almost universally expected to be released prior to the start of free agency.
The Texans, who are coming off a Divisional Round loss to the New England Patriots, will now have a proven commodity still in the prime of his career for quarterback C.J. Stroud to hand the ball off to.
“I’m upset, but I’m also really happy for D-Mo because I know how much he wanted to have a bigger role in an offense and I think he’s going to get that in Houston,” St. Brown said.
“They’ve got a crazy defense, they’ve got receivers, they’ve got a good quarterback. They’ve got a good team. He’s going to a good team where he’s going to be able to be the primary back.”
Across three seasons in Detroit, Montgomery thrived. He logged the second 1,000-yard rushing season of his career in 2023 and tallied 33 total touchdowns across 45 games during that period.
Montgomery eclipsed 1,100 yards from scrimmage in two of his three seasons with the Lions. The Texans can certainly use the boost to their rushing attack after finishing the season ranked No. 23 in PFSN’s Offense Impact metric.
