Running back David Montgomery was one of several Lions players listed as questionable to play against the Vikings on Christmas, but Thursday morning brought a positive update about his outlook for the game.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Montgomery is expected to play. Montgomery landed on the injury report with an illness that kept him out of practice Tuesday and limited him on Wednesday.
While Montgomery appears to be good to go on Thursday, he may be looking for an exit from Detroit come the offseason. Social media watchers noted this week that Montgomery liked an Instagram comment suggesting that he request a trade once the season is over.
Montgomery is under contract through 2027, but has seen his usage drop for two straight years as Jahmyr Gibbs has taken on a more significant role in the Detroit offense.
Lions Clips
Last year’s Christmas games, at least on paper, were good. (The games themselves, not.)
This year, the NFL’s three-pack of December 25 offerings are roughly the equivalent of a bowling ball, a can of Simoniz, and mismatched dress socks.
Despite the relentless hype, the games have no inherent appeal. Cowboys-Commanders, which starts the day, includes two teams that have been eliminated from playoff contention. It also features a 39-year-old, third-string quarterback (Josh Johnson) for the home team. Yes, it’s the Cowboys. But who really cares?
The second game has the Lions, who are clinging to wafer thin playoff hopes, against a Vikings team led by a rookie free agent (Max Brosmer) whose only other start was a 26-0 disaster in Seattle.
Then comes the night game, starring the Chiefs — who suddenly look like anything but the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes is out. His backup, Gardner Minshew, is out. The quarterbacks for the home team will be Chris Oladokun and Shane Buechele. The Broncos, at 12-3, are favored by 13.5 points in the first game to be played at Arrowhead Stadium since the team’s eventual move to Kansas was announced on Monday.
Whatever the audience numbers may be for the three games, the P.R. execs will try to find a way to paint the glass of eggnog as half full. Even with the new Nielsen metric that has pumped up numbers across the board, it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping what they’re doing to watch any of these games.
They’ll probably still beat the NBA games easily. But the NFL games may not win by the usual wide margin.
The Vikings placed veteran center Ryan Kelly on injured reserve for a second time in 2025, ending his season.
The team announced the move on Wednesday afternoon after earlier ruling him out of Thursday’s game against the Lions.
Kelly left Sunday’s game with a concussion, despite wearing a Guardian Cap as an external layer on his helmet. He is in concussion protocol a third time this season.
His first head injury came in Week 2 against the Falcons. Kelly left that game after 23 snaps and returned to action in Week 4 against Pittsburgh in Dublin.
Kelly was diagnosed with a concussion in that game, leaving after 34 snaps. The Vikings placed him on IR, and he returned to action in Week 12 at Green Bay.
The four-time Pro Bowler left Sunday’s game after 21 snaps.
Kelly’s head injuries limited him to eight games in 2025.
Michael Jurgens is expected to start in Kelly’s place against the Lions. Jurgens, a 2024 seventh-round selection, has appeared in 16 games in his career and last started in Week 3.
Minnesota also announced the signing of interior offensive lineman Henry Byrd from its practice squad to the 53-player roster. Byrd has appeared in two games but only on special teams this season.
The Vikings elevated linebacker Sione Takitaki to the game-day roster for Thursday’s game. He made his Minnesota debut on special teams last week against the Giants.
Finally, the team downgraded rookie tight end Gavin Bartholomew from questionable to out. Bartholomew has dealt with a back issue all season and is in his 21-day return-to-practice window.
The DK Metcalf incident from Sunday is the holiday gift that keeps on giving.
Via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com, Ryan Kennedy (the fan who was assaulted by Metcalf at Ford Field) will conduct a press conference on Friday with his lawyers. The purpose of the event will be to “address the assault, correct misinformation that has been publicly repeated as fact, and discuss the serious consequences Mr. Kennedy has faced.”
The press conference is the latest indication that a lawsuit is coming, against Metcalf and others. One claim will likely be based on the clear assault/battery that Metcalf committed. Even if Kennedy suffered little or no physical harm, the law makes it obvious that Metcalf contacted Kennedy in an offensive manner.
Another claim likely will arise from the publication of the allegation that Kennedy used a racial slur toward Metcalf, along with an inappropriate term about Metcalf’s mother. If, as Kennedy insists, he didn’t say any such thing, the false assertion that he did amounts to defamation. Because Kennedy is not a public figure, the standard for proving defamation is low — any false statement that makes him look bad becomes actionable.
And the defamation claim will have much greater potential harm, and thus financial damages, attached to it. The statement that Kennedy’s lawyers issued on Monday contends that he has experienced “harassment, threats, and messages advocating violence” against him, sparking “serious concern” for his safety and the safety of his family. A defamation lawsuit would be aimed at compensating him for that experience, perhaps with a claim for punitive damages on top of it.
Metcalf apparently shared his version about the things Kennedy allegedly said, directly or indirectly, with multiple media outlets, neither of which mentioned Kennedy’s separate claim that he merely uttered Metcalf’s full name. Metcalf also apparently repeated those claims during his appeal hearing on Tuesday, prompting the NFL to declare on Wednesday that the NFL Network report from Tuesday night that Kennedy will face no discipline by the Lions or the league was “not accurate.”
It’s entirely accurate to say that this episode is far from over. The press conference is next, with a lawsuit likely following it.
The Lions have several questionable players for Thursday’s game against the Vikings, including two of the club’s top skill players.
Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (knee) and running back David Montgomery (illness) are both among those questionable for the contest.
St. Brown was listed as a non-participant on Monday before being limited on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Montgomery was added to the report on Tuesday as a non-participant but was upgraded to limited on Wednesday.
Defensive back Avonte Maddox (back/illness) and offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (knee) have been ruled out.
Offensive lineman Trystan Colon (wrist), edge rusher Marcus Davenport (shoulder), offensive tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder/rest), cornerback Khalil Dorsey (illness), receiver Tom Kennedy (abdomen), offensive lineman Christian Mahogany (fibula), defensive lineman Alim McNeill (abdomen), edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad (knee), and cornerback Amik Robertson (hand) are also questionable.
Center Graham Glasgow (knee) has no game status and is set to play.
The Vikings will not have tight end T.J. Hockenson when they play the Lions on Christmas Day.
Hockenson has been ruled out of the contest with a shoulder injury suffered during Sunday’s win over the Giants.
Hockenson was listed as a non-participant on all three injury reports.
Center Ryan Kelly (concussion), running back Jordan Mason (ankle), and quarterback J.J. McCarthy (right hand) have also been ruled out for the contest.
Offensive tackle Brian O’Neill (heel) and tight end Gavin Bartholomew (back) are questionable.
Running back Aaron Jones (ankle), defensive lineman Javon Hargrave (thigh), linebacker Eric Wilson (thumb), and running back Ty Chandler (knee) are all off the injury report and are set to play.
Regardless of what it was, something said or done by a fan at Sunday’s Steelers-Lions game prompted receiver DK Metcalf to approach the stands and initiate contact. The incident resulted in a two-game suspension and a talking point for the Steelers and others in the NFL regarding the lines that shouldn’t be crossed, by fans or by players.
On Wednesday, Steelers defensive lineman (and team captain and former Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner) Cameron Heyward was asked about fans saying things that shouldn’t be said to players.
“There is some inappropriate things, you know, but as professionals, we gotta keep moving beyond that,” Heyward said, via 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. “You know, it’s easier in basketball, when you can just point a guy out and say, ‘Hey, get him out of here.’ Football is — there’s a lot more going on. But it shouldn’t be tolerated at all. I respect them as they come to watch us play, and they sure respect us as, you know, we try to put on a good show for them.”
It remains to be seen whether the league takes action against the fan. On Wednesday morning, the NFL said an NFL Network report from Tuesday night that the fan would not be disciplined was “not accurate.”
Metcalf, for his part, has received significant punishment. And it should send a loud, clear message to players about the proper reaction to verbal harassment during games — and to teams about having a mechanism in place to prevent a player who strays toward the fans from making it there.
In what may be a first, the NFL disputes a report from the media outlet owned and operated by the NFL.
On Tuesday night, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported that “the NFL and the Lions will not take action against the fan involved in the altercation with Steelers WR DK Metcalf on Sunday in Detroit because ‘there was no violation of the fan code of conduct,’ per source.”
On Wednesday morning, the NFL said otherwise.
“The report about the fan and discipline was not accurate,” and NFL spokesperson told PFT via email. “The matter remains under review and the league is following up with the club.”
The Ford Field Guest Code of Conduct prohibits, among other things, “Using foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.”
It’s unclear why or how Pelissero got over his skis on this one. Perhaps the looming possibility of a defamation lawsuit based on the report that the fan directed a slur at Metcalf and a derogatory comment about Metcalf’s mother prompted Pelissero to throw the fan a bone.
Regardless, the bone missed. And the NFL, which would have its own liability for the report regarding slurs and “C-words” minimized if the statements about the fan are proven to be true, has gone on the record to say that the reporting of its in-house media conglomerate was erroneous.
Neither the NFL nor the Lions will punish the fan involved in the altercation with Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf on Sunday.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the league found “no violation of the fan code of conduct.”
Ryan Kennedy, the Lions fan involved in the confrontation, issued a statement through a Michigan law firm “categorically” denying “using the ‘N-word,’ the ‘C-word’ or any racial, misogynistic, or hate-based language during the incident.” He told the Detroit Free Press on Sunday that calling Metcalf by his full name — DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf — is what angered Metcalf.
Kennedy, who was in the front row of the stands behind the Steelers bench, had his shirt collar grabbed by Metcalf before Metcalf forcefully released him, shoving him backward.
The NFL suspended Metcalf for two games for engaging in conduct detrimental to the NFL, and an appeals officer upheld the suspension on Tuesday.
The Vikings won’t have quarterback J.J. McCarthy for Thursday’s game against the Lions. Coach Kevin O’Connell ruled out McCarthy on Tuesday after medical testing revealed a hairline fracture in McCarthy’s right hand.
Running back Jordan Mason (ankle) was among other players who remained out of Tuesday’s session, and running back Aaron Jones (ankle) again was limited.
Right tackle Brian O’Neill (heel) was the only change to the injury report as he went from not practicing Monday to limited on Tuesday.
Center Ryan Kelly (concussion) and tight end T.J. Hockenson (shoulder) both missed a second consecutive practice.
Defensive lineman Javon Hargrave (thigh) and linebacker Eric Wilson (thumb) again were limited.
Tight end Gavin Bartholomew (back), running back Ty Chandler (knee), and linebacker Austin Keys (ankle) remained full participants.
