The Houston Texans traded for veteran David Montgomery this offseason to provide a struggling backfield in 2025.
“He’s a three-down quarterback,” Texans coach and assistant head coach Danny Barrett told KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson. “He can do it all. It starts with his mindset. He comes to work every day, the same guy every day. How can I get better? The first meeting we had we talked about how we can get better. He wants to be the best.
“Change the goal of the game, but also help the young guys develop that mentality. He’ll finish every run. He’ll finish every block. And it’s just that type of mentality that he’s brought into our room that’s going to take us to the next level with the talent that we have.”
After seeing his snaps blighted last season with the Lions, Montgomery read the tea leaves. Detroit was going to give Jahmyr Gibbs the lion’s share of the workload, leaving Montgomery as the true backup. He wanted a bigger role, so he requested a store. Detroit eventually traded him to Houston for a fourth- and seventh-round pick to protect Juice Scruggs. The Texans put Montgomery on a new $16.5 million contract.
The 29-year-old still has juice left. He can throw over defenders between the tackles, always drops forward and can be a plus in the passing attack. Montgomery’s ability to find some space and gain tough yards will be a welcome sight in Houston, which struggled a lot with short yardage and goal line.
“He’s tough all day,” offensive coordinator Nick Caley said. “His body of work will speak for itself. Runs behind the screen, keeps the ground. Hands don’t get it. He’s going to try to run through you every chance he gets. He can set guys up. He understands how to set blocks and deliver and help get defenders to the defender.
“You look at the production of his passing game, he just has a really good feel. He’s polished. He takes a lot of pride in his route running. He brings a lot. That’s one of the many reasons I’m really excited about him.”
Montgomery had a career-low 716 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 158 carries in 2025.
The veteran fills in for Joe Mixon, who didn’t play last year and eventually came out this offseason, and will pair with second-year quarterback Woody Marks. The shifty Marks showed some potential last season behind a struggling offensive line, but will be better suited alongside the veteran. The change of pace could take the third down role.
“I’m really excited,” Marks told Wilson of the pairing with Montgomery. “Just looking back at the clips with him and Jahmyr Gibbs, it looked like they were having so much fun out there. When the running room is going well and everybody’s closing, it’s a party in the back room. So we’re looking to have the same fun that he and Jahmyr Gibbs had bringing it here in Houston.”
In Montgomery’s first season in Detroit, he rushed for 1,015 yards and 13 TDs while Gibbs, then a rookie, added 945 yards and 10 rushing scores. The Texans would be thrilled with anything close to that result. Simply getting a consistent running game that can keep the chains moving and doesn’t get pushed back on 3-and-1 would be better than what we watched from Houston a year ago.