Lions RB David Montgomery: Bears' Losing 'Sucked the Fun Out of the Game for Me'

One reason why David Montgomery signed with the Detroit Lions as a free agent was the opportunity to play for a winning team for the first time in his NFL career.

Speaking on an NBA 2K23 stream with new Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (h/t Ryan Taylor of NBC Sports Chicago), Montgomery said his four seasons with the Chicago Bears "sucked the fun out of the game for me" because they were losing so much.

"I like to compete," he added. "That's what football's about. It's so refreshing to be in a place where that's appreciated."

The Bears selected Montgomery in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. He was a productive player with more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first four years, including leading the team in back-to-back years in 2020 (1,508) and 2021 (1,150).

Despite Montgomery's individual performance, success was hard to come by in Chicago during that span. The team did make the playoffs with an 8-8 record in 2020, losing 21-9 to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Game.

Over the past two seasons combined, the Bears went 9-25 and were outscored by 233 points.

Montgomery opted to stay in the Bears' division by signing a three-year, $18 million deal with the Lions as a free agent in March.

While few people would think of the Lions as a winning franchise, there is a lot of optimism around the organization heading into the 2023 season. They closed last season with eight wins in their final 10 games to finish 9-8 overall. It was the first time the Lions have had a winning record since 2017.

ESPN's Football Power Index gives the Lions a 4 percent chance to win Super Bowl 58. They're tied with the New York Jets for the seventh-best odds in the NFL.

The Bears also look to be headed in the right direction thanks to Justin Fields' emergence last season and the offseason trade with the Carolina Panthers involving the No. 1 pick that brought veteran wideout D.J. Moore to Chicago. However, they're likely still another year away from being a competitive playoff team.

The Lions are arguably the front-runner to win the NFC North right now with the Minnesota Vikings losing several key players from last season and Aaron Rodgers now playing for the Jets.

The Lions haven't made the playoffs since 2016. Their last division title was in 1993, when they won the NFC Central with a 10-6 record.