Report: Bears' David Montgomery Avoided 'Major' Knee Injury vs. Lions

Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery has reportedly avoided a "major" knee injury after he was forced to leave Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the early diagnosis based on early testing, but noted Montgomery will undergo more evaluation to determine the severity of the injury.

He had carried the ball 23 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns prior to exiting.  

Montgomery, 24, rushed for 4.4 yards per carry as the Bears' top back through their first three games. He's gained 203 total yards and scored one touchdown.

The former Iowa State star has also caught six passes for 49 receiving yards.

Chicago took Montgomery in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft. He assumed the bulk of the backfield workload during his rookie year with 1,074 yards and seven touchdowns on 267 touches.

Backup Tarik Cohen assumed much of the pass-catching duties out of the backfield in 2019, but he suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 of the 2020 season and was forced to miss the rest of the campaign.

Montgomery, therefore, assumed an even greater workload in 2020, gaining 1,508 yards from scrimmage and scoring 10 touchdowns.

With Cohen on the PUP list, Damien Williams is the next man up in the Bears backfield. The Super Bowl LIV hero for the Kansas City Chiefs opted out last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, Williams gained 711 total yards and scored seven touchdowns.