Initial tests on David Montgomery’s knee reportedly don’t indicate a major injury after the Chicago Bears RB’s 2-TD day was cut short

Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune
·3 min read

When Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney saw running back David Montgomery go down in the fourth quarter Sunday at Soldier Field, he immediately became concerned for his teammate.

Montgomery clutched his left knee after a 5-yard carry with 11 minutes to play in the 24-14 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Bears players kneeled on the field and sideline as trainers evaluated the injury, and Montgomery walked to the locker room with help.

“When he got tackled, I saw his facial expression and I heard him and I’m like, ‘Oh, man,’ ” Mooney said. “So I’m literally bringing the trainers over as fast as I can and waving my hand. … I got down, prayed, and hopefully everything’s OK and we’ll get him back.”

Bears coach Matt Nagy didn’t have an immediate update about the seriousness of Montgomery’s knee injury after the game. Mooney said Montgomery looked “fine” in the locker room but noted the Bears probably would know more Monday.

NFL Network reported that Montgomery will have an MRI on Monday but that initial tests indicated his hyperextended knee did not result in a major injury.

Montgomery’s health could have a big impact on the Bears moving forward. The 2019 third-round draft pick has 69 carries for 309 yards and three touchdowns this season, including two 100-yard rushing games.

“I don’t know enough,” Nagy said when asked about Montgomery’s status. “So we’ll just keep working through it.”

Montgomery was a key part of the Bears offense getting in a groove Sunday for the first time under rookie quarterback Justin Fields.

He had six carries for 31 yards on the Bears’ first drive, including a 4-yard touchdown run.

To cap the second drive, he broke through a hole to his left to get to the 5-yard line and then continued pushing a huge pile of players behind right guard James Daniels to get across the goal line. The 9-yard touchdown run pushed the Bears to a 14-0 lead to open the second quarter.

Montgomery finished with 23 carries for 106 yards and the two touchdowns.

“I could speak about Dave for hours, what he means to our team, the identity that he has,” center Sam Mustipher said. “I know it’s early in his career, but you see the way he runs, you see the way he plays, the energy, the effort. He really is the embodiment of what it means to be a Chicago Bear. Hopefully things are great with him.”

Montgomery was not available after the game, but he tweeted, “You are an awesome God!!!”

To make matters worse for the Bears, running back Damien Williams left in the fourth quarter with a quadriceps injury. Williams had eight carries for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Rookie running back/kick returner Khalil Herbert entered on offense after Williams left and had three carries for 7 yards.

Running back Tarik Cohen remains sidelined with the ACL injury he suffered in September 2020.

Bears teammates expressed hope Montgomery would be OK.

“It sucks for anybody to get injured, but I know that guy is a warrior,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith said. “No one works as hard as him, so I know he’ll be back pretty soon.”