Pre-draft On January 7, 2019, Montgomery announced that he would forgo his final season of eligibility and declare for the
2019 NFL draft.
ESPN2 dubbed Montgomery the "
Frankenstein" of running backs for possessing similar physical traits of different NFL running backs, including the footwork of
Saquon Barkley, the field vision of
Le'Veon Bell, the strength of
Ezekiel Elliott and the athleticism of
Sony Michel.
Chicago Bears 2019 season in 2019 The
Chicago Bears drafted Montgomery in the third round with the 73rd overall pick in the draft. Montgomery signed a four-year rookie contract with the team on June 14. Montgomery made his
NFL debut with the Bears in Week 1 against the
Green Bay Packers. In that game, Montgomery rushed for 18 yards on six attempts and caught one pass for 27 yards as the Bears lost 10–3. In Week 2 against the
Denver Broncos, Montgomery rushed 18 times for 62 yards and his first career NFL touchdown as the Bears won 16–14. After 11 carries for 25 yards in Week 6 and two rushes for six yards and a fumble in Week 7 against the
New Orleans Saints, Montgomery responded in Week 8 against the
Los Angeles Chargers with 27 rushes for an NFL-second best 135 yards and a touchdown in the 17–16 loss. In Week 9 against the
Philadelphia Eagles, Montgomery rushed 14 times for 40 yards and two touchdowns in the 22–14 loss. This was Montgomery's first game with multiple rushing touchdowns of his career. In Week 17 against the
Minnesota Vikings, Montgomery rushed 23 times for 113 yards and a touchdown during the 21–19 win. Overall, Montgomery finished his rookie season with 889 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns to go along with 25 receptions for 185 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.
2020 season Montgomery remained the team's featured running back heading into the
2020 season. Before the regular season began, head coach
Matt Nagy emphasized the offense would prioritize establishing a run game. He opened the season with 64 rushing yards on 13 attempts en route to a 27–23 comeback win against the
Detroit Lions. In Week 2 against the
New York Giants, Montgomery rushed 16 times for 82 yards and caught three passes for 45 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season during the 17–13 win. Montgomery suffered a concussion during the Bears' Week 9 loss to the
Tennessee Titans. He subsequently missed the team's Week 10 contest while recovering. The Bears rushing attack ranked last in the NFL with 82.3 yards-per-game at this point in the season. Nagy handed over play-calling responsibilities to offensive coordinator
Bill Lazor. Montgomery returned for the Bears' Week 12 match-up against the Packers on
Sunday Night Football, where he totaled 143 yards from scrimmage and recorded a receiving touchdown in a 41–25 loss. In his second game back from the concussion, Montgomery rushed for 72 yards with two rushing touchdowns during a 34–30 loss against the Detroit Lions. In Week 14 against the
Houston Texans, he amassed 113 rushing yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the Bears' opening offensive possession. The score was the fourth-longest run in Bears history and the team's first opening-play touchdown since 1995. Montgomery finished the game with 155 yards from scrimmage in a 36–7 victory over the Texans. The following week against the
Jacksonville Jaguars, he ran for 95 yards and a touchdown during the 41–17 win as he surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season, becoming the first Bears running back to do so since
Jordan Howard in 2017. In Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers, Montgomery recorded 132 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown during the 35–16 loss. Montgomery finished the 2020 regular season with 247 rushes for 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns. His 1,070 rushing yards ranked fifth in the NFL. He suffered a knee sprain in Week 4 against the
Detroit Lions. He had the fifth most rushing yards in the league until his injury. He was activated on November 8 for the team's Week 9 game. In Week 17, against the Giants, he had two rushing touchdowns in the 29–3 victory. He finished the 2021 season with 225 carries for 849 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns to go along with 42 receptions for 301 receiving yards. He was ranked 98th by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
2022 season In Week 2, against the Packers, Montgomery had 15 carries for 122 rushing yards in the 27–10 loss. In week 10 against the
Atlanta Falcons, he had 121 combined yards (67 rushing, 54 receiving), and one rushing touchdown the 27–24 loss. He finished the 2022 season with 201 carries for 801 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to go along with 34 receptions for 316 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.
Detroit Lions 2023 season On March 16, 2023, Montgomery signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Lions. He started as the RB1 at the start of the season before a rib injury in week 6. In a Week 4 victory over the Packers, he had 32 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns. He then came back two weeks later sharing the backfield with rookie
Jahmyr Gibbs. This duo would become one of the most successful duos in the NFL as they became the first pair of players in NFL history to combine for 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns each. He finished the season with 219 carries for 1,015 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns to go with 16 receptions for 117 receiving yards in 14 games and starts. He scored a touchdown in 11 different games. Montgomery and the Lions would go to the
NFC Championship where they lost to the 49ers 34–31. Montgomery had 113 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in the loss.
2024 season In Week 4 against the
Seattle Seahawks, Montgomery achieved his 7th straight game with a rushing touchdown, tying
Billy Sims' record for the most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown in Lions franchise history. On October 12, with two years left on his current contract, Montgomery signed a two-year extension worth $18.25 million with $10.5 million in new guaranteed money that will keep him in Detroit through the 2027 season. In Week 15's matchup against the
Buffalo Bills, Montgomery suffered a
medial collateral ligament injury, which was initially believed to require a season-ending surgery. However, Montgomery sought additional medical opinions and returned for the divisional round of the playoffs. Montgomery totaled 775 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 185 carries and 341 receiving yards on 36 catches in 14 games.
2025 season In Week 3 of the 2025 season against the Ravens, Montgomery had 12 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the 38–30 win. He finished the 2025 season with 158 carries for 716 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns to go with 24 receptions for 192 receiving yards.
Houston Texans On March 11, 2026, the Detroit Lions traded Montgomery to the
Houston Texans in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick, a 2027 seventh-round pick, and offensive lineman
Juice Scruggs. == Player profile ==