David Montgomery is looking like the running back version of Deebo Samuel. The Bears say he’s going to be out for 2-4 weeks with a groin injury.
Montgomery was injured at practice on Wednesday. Matt Nagy says it’s a groin injury, and that he’ll be out 2-4 weeks. With the opener 16 days away, it’s looking increasingly likely that Montgomery will miss the first 1-3 games of the season.
And you have to wonder when Montgomery will be truly back to 100 percent. It’s one thing to return to practice and games. It’s another to be fully recovered – both 100 percent healthy and having full confidence to play the way you were prior to the injury.
For fantasy purposes, I consider Montgomery to be one of the running backs in the teens – in there with guys like David Johnson, Chris Carson, LeVeon Bell, James Conner and Devin Singletary. It’s now reasonable to move Montgomery down to the bottom of that tier.
This injury is particularly notable because the Bears don’t have much else at the position. Tarik Cohen is a neat player. He’ll play more while Montgomery is out (and probably also more even after Montgomery initially returns). But Cohen is more of a change-of-pace and third-down type back rather than a featured guy. They’ll want some other back to log double-digit carries per week while Montgomery is out, and they don’t have much else at the position. Mike Davis is gone.
This could be a landing spot for Devonta Freeman. He wants to play but couldn’t come to a financial agreement with the Seahawks or Eagles. If the Bears are worried about Montgomery’s ability to play more than half of this season, Freeman would fit nicely here (if the Bears think he can still play at a high level).
The wild card here, I think, is Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson has been a wide receiver and elite kickoff returner for most of his career, but he’s always been an run-after-catch guy rather than a polished route runner or pass catcher. The Patriots used him some as a tailback when they had injuries a few years back. And Patterson is a big guy. He weighed 220 pounds when the Vikings picked him in the first round back in 2013. Now the Bears have him listed at 238.
Comparing Patterson to the 32 running backs who currently appear to be opening-day starters, he’s heavier than all of them except for Derrick Henry. (He’s also taller than all of them except for Henry.)
If you’re in a large league, makes sense to throw your last pick at Patterson. He might start a few games while Montgomery mends.
Patterson is listed as a wide receiver at the team’s official website, but he’s been practicing with the running backs. Even prior to this recent injury, it seemed like he was going to play at running back. Now that Montgomery is down, it would not be a surprise to see that positional listing change from wide receiver to running back (or even WR-RB).
| HEAVIEST STARTING TAILBACKS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Height | Weight |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 6-3 | 247 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Chi. | 6-2 | 238 |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 6-0 | 233 |
| James Conner, Pitt. | 6-1 | 233 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 6-0 | 228 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 6-0 | 228 |
| Nick Chubb, Clev. | 5-11 | 227 |
| LeVeon Bell, NYJ | 6-1 | 225 |
| Jordan Howard, Mia. | 6-0 | 224 |
| Todd Gurley, Atl. | 6-1 | 224 |
| David Johnson, Hou. | 6-1 | 224 |
| David Montgomery, Chi. | 5-10 | 222 |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 5-11 | 222 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 5-10 | 220 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 6-1 | 220 |
| Adrian Peterson, Was. | 6-1 | 220 |
| Cam Akers, LAR | 5-10 | 217 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 5-10 | 215 |
| Sony Michel, N.E. | 5-11 | 215 |
| Melvin Gordon, Den. | 6-1 | 215 |
| Kerryon Johnson, Det. | 5-11 | 211 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 5-11 | 211 |
| Kenyan Drake, Ariz. | 6-1 | 211 |
| Mark Ingram, Balt. | 5-9 | 210 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 5-10 | 210 |
| Marlon Mack, Ind. | 6-0 | 210 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 5-9 | 208 |
| Ronald Jones, T.B. | 5-11 | 208 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire, K.C. | 5-7 | 207 |
| Raheem Mostert, S.F. | 5-10 | 205 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 5-11 | 205 |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 5-7 | 203 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 5-10 | 200 |
—Ian Allan