Is David Montgomery Playing Today? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Lions vs. Vikings)

The latest injury update for Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery on Christmas against the Minnesota Vikings.

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery missed practice early in the week with an illness, but he's listed as questionable for Thursday's matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.

The veteran running back returned to practice on Wednesday in a limited fashion, giving him a chance to play on Christmas.

Detroit is still in the mix to make the playoffs this season, but it needs to win out and get some help to earn the No. 7 seed in the NFC. Having a healthy offense will be key to making that happen, especially against a Minnesota defense that is in the top 10 in the NFL in EPA/Play this season.

Montgomery has played a complementary role in the Lions' backfield this season with Jahmyr Gibbs emerging as a breakout star. Montgomery has just 140 carries for 649 yards and eight scores. He's averaging 4.6 yards per carry, but Detroit has not used him as much as it did the past two seasons.

Montgomery had 185 carries in 14 games in the 2024 season and 219 carries in 14 games in the 2023 campaign. He's played in all 15 games this season, but he's received 45 fewer carries than he did in 2024.

The Lions are favored on the road in this matchup, and it'll be interesting to see how much Montgomery sees the field against Minnesota.

Here's a look at the SI Betting team's favorite prop for the veteran running back in this game.

Best David Montgomery Prop Bet vs. Vikings

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Earlier this week, SI Betting's Ryan Gilber shared his favorite anytime touchdown scorer picks for this game, and he's eyeing Montgomery to find the end zone:

David Montgomery Anytime TD (+140)

David Montgomery scored in the first meeting against the Vikings, which was his fifth touchdown of the season through eight games. He then had a three-game scoring drought before a three-game touchdown streak, which ended last week against the Steelers.

Minnesota is in the middle of the pack with 0.9 rushing touchdowns allowed per game. The Vikings held the Giants running backs out of the end zone last week, but both Javonte Williams and Malik Davis scored for the Cowboys the game prior.

I’ll take Montgomery to get some red-zone carries and punch one in against the Vikings.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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