Sunday’s 20-6 victory over the Buccaneers by the Lions saw running back David Montgomery leave the game with a rib injury.
After collecting a quick ball to the left side from quarterback Jared Goff at 7:34 in the second quarter, Montgomery suffered an injury.
He spent a brief period of time lying on the ground before eventually leaving by himself. He was later declared ineligible to continue the game.
The initial tests were negative, according to Lions coach Dan Campbell, but Montgomery will have more testing on Monday.
“I’d like to say I don’t think it’ll be some long-term issue, but I won’t know until tomorrow for sure,” Campbell said.
In six attempts, Montgomery gained 14 yards against the stout Buccaneers defense. The Lions’ final total of 40 running yards was their lowest in a victory since the Jaguars beat them in 2016 in Jacksonville.
“Losing David today … it’s hard. You have a lot of faith in Craig (Reynolds) and (Devine) Ozigbo, but Dave has kind of been our guy all year and him going out, it makes it tough,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “But that’s where we want to live and die by that run and have everything off it. Sometimes, that’s not the case and today it wasn’t.”
Montgomery had a thigh injury in Week 2 that prevented him from playing in the Lions’ triumph over the Falcons the following week. He is Detroit’s top rusher with 385 yards and six touchdowns.
Jahmyr Gibbs, a rookie running back who has been out for the past two weeks with a hamstring injury, was already an absence for the Lions.