David Montgomery looked well on his way to a surprise RB2 season through Detroit's first six quarters, but a thigh injury dashed his early-season momentum. Ahead of Week 4's Thursday Night Football matchup in Green Bay, Montgomery's status is up in the air, and his availability will have a big impact on start 'em, sit 'em decisions for both Montgomery owners and Jahmyr Gibbs' owners.
We'll continue to update this article with news on Montgomery until the official active/inactive report comes out on Thursday around 6:50 p.m. ET.
TNF INJURY UPDATES: Aaron Jones | Christian Watson
Is David Montgomery playing Thursday night Week 4?
UPDATE (9/27): After another limited practice on Wednesday, Montgomery is officially "questionable" for Thursday night's game against Green Bay.
UPDATE (9/28): After initially saying otherwise, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Thursday morning that Montgomery will play on Thursday night.
UPDATE (9/28): Montgomery is officially ACTIVE.
Montgomery (thigh) missed Week 3 after failing to practice all week, and he started Week 4 with estimated "limited practices" on Monday and Tuesday. The initial diagnosis suggested Montgomery would miss at least two games, but Lions' coach Dan Campbell said on Tuesday that Montgomery is trending in a "positive" direction and he feels "pretty good" about his chances of playing on Thursday against Green Bay.
MORE THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:
DK lineup | FD lineup | Best props | Betting preview | Start-Sit
The Lions managed to scrape by on the ground without Montgomery in Week 3, giving backup Jahmyr Gibbs 17 carries and two targets. The talented rookie turned that into 82 total yards and ceded seven total carries to Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight, neither of whom did much (28 total rushing yards). Montgomery wasn't exactly tearing it up on a per-rush basis, but he was functioning as a legitimate workhorse, rushing 37 times for 141 yards and two scores through games.
WEEK 4 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
If Montgomery returns, the Lions would likely feature a more equal timeshare between him and Gibbs, hurting the fantasy values of both. If Montgomery is out, Gibbs would once again slot into fantasy lineups as a solid RB2 with a higher floor and ceiling in PPR formats.
WEEK 4 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Should you start David Montgomery in fantasy if he plays in Week 4?
Montgomery will be a risky fantasy start if he's active in Week 4. It's unlikely that the Lions would take a chance with their offseason acquisition if he wasn't ready to handle a normal workload, but even with that said, it's just as unlikely he would approach 20 carries again. That would make Montgomery a TD-or-bust option in all formats. Even with injuries piling up, it's possible you have a safer option on your bench.
Gibbs would have a higher ceiling in PPR leagues, and with seemingly more big-play upside, he would be a little safer, but he comes with obvious risks, too. Ideally, Detroit will just keep Montgomery out another week, feature Gibbs, and make life easier on fantasy owners, but we'll have to monitor the injury reports at least until Wednesday.
