Seven thoughts to end the week ahead of Lions trip to Minnesota
Allen Park — Here are seven thoughts to end the week as the Detroit Lions prepare to play the Vikings in Minnesota.
A logical deal
The detailed contract numbers for David Montgomery’s extension came out Thursday morning, and while I’m going to skip an elaborate breakdown, let me provide the cliff notes before offering an assessment.
The Lions shuffled some 2024 money around, reducing the veteran running back’s cap hit slightly for this season. In 2025, it goes up, but by less than a million, from $7.5 million to $8.4 million. The first added year, 2026, repeats that $8.4 million cap hit, while 2027 jumps to $10.4 million.
Of course, as we often see with NFL contracts, there’s a team-friendly exit ramp ahead of that final year. At that point, the Lions only remain on the hook for $2.5 million in dead money. What does that mean?
Well, Montgomery will be entering his age-30 season in 2027. That’s often when the wheels fall off for running backs. And while Montgomery is built to maintain his level of success, aided by an evenly split workload with Jahmyr Gibbs reducing the wear and tear being put on the body, the Lions can part ways with a minimal cap hit if Montgomery does end up following his positional trend of declining production. In that scenario, it would free up more than $7 million in cap space to reinvest, potentially even an extension for Gibbs.
The deal suits both sides. If gives Montgomery an extra year of security, some more guaranteed money in his pocket, setting him and his family up long-term. For the Lions, it keeps him in Detroit through the remainder of his prime and provides what boils down to a market-rate team option if he’s still playing at a high level entering the 2027 season.
The ivory tower of sports etiquette
I was going to ignore former governor Chris Chrstie’s comments on Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s podcast, but I'm doubling back. In case you missed them, Christie, a known Cowboys fan, ripped Detroit’s head coach for pouring it on last Sunday.