Barry Sanders on Jahmyr Gibbs, heart health and Detroit Lions
Hall of Fame RB Barry Sanders joins Dave Birkett on radio row at Super Bowl 60 to talk Jahmyr Gibbs, the Lions and heart health.
SAN FRANCISCO — David Montgomery has not formally asked for a trade yet, and his running mate in the Detroit Lions backfield is still holding out hope the two will play together again in 2026.
“Of course I want David back,” Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs told the Free Press at the Pro Bowl last week. “The whole team would want David back, but it’s ultimately up to him. He’s going to do what’s best for him and his family and whatever he decides to do I’m going to support 100%. But of course we want him back, though.”
Montgomery’s future remains uncertain with the start of the new league year just more than a month away.
Montgomery was unhappy with his reduced workload this season, and Lions general manager Brad Holmes said after the season the veteran running back “deserves to be in a situation where his skill set can be utilized” more than it was in 2025.
The Lions could entertain trade talks for Montgomery at the NFL combine later this month or consider releasing the soon-to-be 29-year-old back.
Montgomery is due a reasonable base salary of $5.49 million in 2026 in the first year of an extension he signed in October of 2024. His contract includes $1.75 million guaranteed next season.
“Look, those are discussions that we’re going to have to have a lot more in depth in terms of what is the best plan for him going forward,” Holmes said in his end-of-season news conference. “Is it somewhere else or whatever the case be. But just really appreciate everything that he has done for us if it does end up going that way.
“I hope it doesn’t, because we love David Montgomery. He’s a good football player and wish we would have been able to get more utilization from him.”
After splitting carries with Gibbs his first two seasons in Detroit, Montgomery served as the Lions’ clear-cut No. 2 running back in 2025.
Gibbs led the Lions with 320 offensive touches, 1,839 yards from scrimmage and 18 touchdowns, while Montgomery had 182 touches, 908 yards from scrimmage – both career-lows – and eight total TDs.
Montgomery, who did not top 10 carries once in the season’s final eight games, spoke carefully about his future during appearances on radio row at the Super Bowl last week.
He said on the “Chris Simms Unbuttoned” podcast he has spoken to new Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, that Petzing “let me know that he wants me to be a part of” the offense and predicted “we’re going to the Super Bowl” next season.
Asked in the same interview about losing carries to Gibbs, Montgomery said he “no question” is a starting running back in the NFL, and that everybody who is a competitor “wants to play and everybody wants to be involved.”
“The good thing about this thing is I’m an incredible teammate and I’ll do whatever it is to ensure that my team is going in the right direction,” he said. “But I also want to be a part of that also.”
Petzing, the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator in 2023-25, oversaw top-10 rushing offenses his first two seasons in Arizona, when the Cardinals leaned heavily on James Conner at running back. Conner had at least 150 more carries than any other Cardinal in each of his first two years under Petzing, before injuries limited him to three games in 2025.
Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders said the Lions have two “great” backs in Gibbs and Montgomery that he hopes the team can keep together for at least one more year.
“I think those two guys have different skill sets and so I wouldn’t necessarily want to see them broken up,” Sanders told the Free Press during Super Bowl week. “But at the same time, I know they have to do what’s best for them. And like I said, either one of them could be RB1 anywhere else.”
The Lions expect to sign Gibbs, who turns 24 in March, to an RB1-type contract once he becomes eligible for an extension this spring.
They likely will need to add to a running back room that includes Sione Vaki, Jacob Saylors and Jabari Small if they part with Montgomery, though Gibbs said he’s comfortable shouldering more of a workload if that’s what the Lions ask next fall.
Gibbs started all 17 games this past season for the first time in his career, and finished seventh in the NFL in scrimmage touches behind Christian McCaffrey (413), Jonathan Taylor (369), Bijan Robinson (366), James Cook (342), Derrick Henry (322) and Ashton Jeanty (321).
“I mean, I feel fine,” Gibbs said. “I came out fine, so it’s something that I’ve been used to. It’s nothing new to me.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
