David Montgomery’s faith, physical prep responsible for quick recovery

Detroit Lions RB David Montgomery talked about his journey over the past month as he navigated a torn MCL.

When David Montgomery and one of his trainers looked back at the video of his latest injury, they were in amazement that it wasn’t far worse.

“We looked at when the hit happened and the way it happened, there’s no way—if you look at the hit the way it happened—I didn’t tear my ACL,” Montgomery said during his media session on Tuesday.

Despite avoiding a torn ACL, Montgomery suffered a torn MCL, per reports. Montgomery called it an MCL sprain, essentially the same thing.

You may remember the viral videos of him deadlifting over 700 pounds, or Detroit Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery praising the veteran running back for putting in an unmatched amount of work in the spring.

“Everything that we asked him to do, he did more,” Scottie Montgomery said in September. “He came back just as polished as a guy I’ve seen come back. I think he’s probably had the most consistent camp of damn near anybody, not only on our team but out of everyone. And when I say consistent, I mean consistently great, not consistently good or average.”

It’s that incessant work that David Montgomery credits to surviving a brutal hit.

“It’s a fierce, crazy game. It’s grown men hitting each other at full speed. If you’re not strong and your body can’t take it, you’re not going to make it,” Montgomery said. “So I’m blessed and I’m lucky to be able to be standing here to be able to play right now, because if you look at the hit, it don’t look good, it’s real egregious.”

After the injury, Montgomery didn’t waste any time feeling bad for himself. While dealing with an injury down the key stretch of the season may be a tough mental hurdle to clear for some, Montgomery leaned on his faith to provide him perspective.

“Whenever I get an opportunity to look at my life and how it’s kind of been carved and shaped, it’s too many things that’s happened the way that they’ve happened, the time that they happened, that it could have been no way it’s me that did it,” Montgomery said.

“I don’t know. I don’t know y’all’s belief, but just my childhood and the stuff I’ve been through—I’ve been through a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff I’ve seen people not make it through. Just to be able to have an opportunity to be able to wear that lion on my helmet, or be able to show my son that his dad is doing something a lot of people want to do, it allows me to have some gratitude for my life and all that. God is amazing. He’s just amazing.”

So Montgomery pushed forward, attacked his “strenuous” rehab, and now he’s in position to return this Saturday night for the Lions’ opening playoff game against the Washington Commanders. Though Tuesday was just a walkthrough practice, Montgomery was already listed as a full participant. And when Saturday comes, he doesn’t expect to have any limitations, be it a physical brace or a pitch count.

“I feel like if you gotta take the precaution, I shouldn’t be out there. So I’m rollin’.”