Tuesday's practice at the Meijer Performance Center was just a walkthrough for the Detroit Lions, but it was big for veteran running back David Montgomery, who was back at practice for the first time since suffering a sprained MCL in his knee back on Dec. 15 vs. Buffalo.
Montgomery was a full participant in the walkthrough and said Tuesday the knee feels ready to go.
"I mean, shoot, I think it feels better than it did before I got hurt," Montgomery told reporters after the walkthrough. "I'm confident. I wouldn't be out there if I wasn't ready."
Montgomery said he tackled his rehab hard to strengthen the knee and give himself a chance to come back when that was very much in doubt immediately following the injury. The next two days of regular practice are going to be the real indicator if he's ready to return to action Saturday night when the Lions host the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs.
"It's going to mean a lot," wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said of getting Montgomery back this week. "He's a big part of this team. Anytime you get a key player and a guy like him – the way he runs you really can't replace it. To have him back, we're all pretty excited on the offensive side of the ball because he sets a tone for us as an offense. I feel like he gets guys going. We can't wait to have him out there. I'm excited to see him even go in practice again and then be out there for the game."
Montgomery has 1,116 scrimmage yards this season with 12 rushing touchdowns. He adds a toughness and physical running style that complements speedster Jahmyr Gibbs perfectly. Together, they are the best running back duo in the NFL.
"It'll mean a lot," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week of getting Montgomery back in the fold. "(No.) 5's a big part of us, he's a huge part of us, and to me, he's a bell cow, he's somebody that – he's a tone-setter, he's a catalyst, so there's a place for him. There's a place for him here, so there'll be a place for him in this game. So, it's going to be good to get him back."
IMPRESSIVE ROOKIE
Jared Goff was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft in 2016 and started seven games for the Rams his rookie season. He lost all of them. He completed 54 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and seven interceptions in those games.
Nine years later, Goff is an MVP candidate and has led the Lions to back-to-back NFC North titles and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs this season.
Playing quarterback in the NFL as a rookie is tough, so what Commanders rookie signal caller Jayden Daniels is doing this season is pretty impressive. He's led Washington to 12 wins, completing 69 percent of his passes for 3,568 yards with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions and adding 891 yards with six touchdowns on the ground.
"Yeah, it's extremely impressive, very impressive for anyone that young to do what he's doing," Goff said Tuesday of Daniels. "It doesn't look like he is a rookie, it doesn't look like he feels like a rookie.
"It feels like he understands the moment and is comfortable in it and our job on defense is to try to make him uncomfortable. It's been a challenge for a lot of teams this year, but I'm excited to see what they do."
LIFE SIZE CAKE
A Rochester bakery's life-size cake of St. Brown doing his head stand touchdown celebration in Green Bay recently went viral. So of course St. Brown had to check it out for himself this week.
St. Brown stopped by the bakery and hung out with customers and fans for a bit on Monday.
"It was awesome. They were so sweet and nice over there," St. Brown said. "There was a bunch of people in line waiting to buy whether it was cookies or whatever. It was amazing to see."
St. Brown said the cake was actually taller than he is at 6-foot and there was no way he was getting a piece of it.
"I couldn't get one. It looked too pretty," he said. "I can't touch that."
