Dan Campbell expects David Montgomery to play next week

There was a time when it looked like running back David Montgomery would miss the rest of the season, but he is expected to be back in the lineup for the Lions’ first playoff game.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell initially said Montgomery would have season-ending surgery, but Montgomery sought additional opinions and was told that he could return after several weeks of rest. He missed the final three games of the regular season and will have another couple of weeks before the divisional round, which seems to have done the trick.

Campbell told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that he expects Montgomery to return to action in the team’s playoff opener. Montgomery had 1,371 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns during the regular season.

Jahmyr Gibbs has shown he’s capable of big things as a lead back in Montgomery’s office, so it will be interesting to what impact the time off and Gibbs’s ascension have on the division of labor in the backfield.