The Texans are set to add running back David Montgomery in a trade with the Lions when the new league year starts next week and their leading rusher for 2025 says he’s looking forward to having Montgomery in Houston.
Woody Marks ran 196 times for 703 yards while splitting time with Nick Chubb last season and the Montgomery trade ensures he’ll be in line for another timeshare in his second NFL season. That could limit his chances to build on his rookie performance, but Marks said that he’s hoping to capture some of what the Lions were able to do with Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in their backfield.
“I’m very excited,” Marks said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC. “Just looking back at the clips with him and Jahmyr Gibbs, it looked like they was having so much fun out there. When the running back room doing good and everybody blocking, it’s a party in the running back room. So, we’re looking to have that same joy him and Jahmyr Gibbs had bringing it down here in Houston.”
Marks caught 261 passes over his five seasons in college, but only had 24 for the Texans last year. If he can make more of an impact in that area, the Texans’ combo will stand a better chance of reminding people of what the Lions have rolled out on offense the last few seasons.
Lions Clips
Kicker Jake Bates is set to return for a third season with the Lions.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports that the Lions have tendered Bates with a contract. Bates was an exclusive rights free agent and putting the tender in place means the Lions don’t have to worry about him negotiating with any other teams this offseason.
Bates caught attention for making a 64-yard field goal early in the 2024 UFL season and signed with the Lions that June. He has kicked in every game for the Lions over the last two seasons and is 53-of-63 on field goals. He has also led the league in extra points made and attempted in both of his seasons with Detroit.
Bates was the only exclusive rights free agent on the Lions’ roster.
The asking price is known. The outcome isn’t.
Where will defensive end Maxx Crosby play next?
DraftKings has the Bears as the +200 favorites to secure his services via trade with the Raiders. Staying put with the Raiders is a +350 proposition.
Five teams are clustered at +700: the Rams (Fuck Them Picks, Part Two), Cowboys, Bills, Ravens, and Eagles.
The Patriots land at +1000, with the Lions and Buccaneers at +1200.
The Raiders, as PFT reported last week, want two first-round picks and a player for Crosby. Crosby, as Jay Glazer said during Super Bowl week, is “done” with the Raiders.
Whether this saga is done remains to be seen. Although no trades can become official until next Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, teams can reach tentative agreements now.
The Lions have made another roster decision on Monday.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Detroit will not tender restricted free agent Tyrus Wheat, which will make him an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year.
Wheat, 26, joined the Lions last August. Detroit claimed him off waivers from Dallas as Wheat was a part of the Cowboys’ roster cuts to get down to 53 players.
Wheat appeared in 15 games for Detroit in 2205, recording 15 total tackles with 1.5 sacks. He was on the field for seven percent of defensive snaps and 52 percent of special teams snaps in games played.
Having entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2023, Wheat has appeared in 35 career games for Dallas and Detroit.
The Lions have let go of one of their veteran offensive linemen.
Detroit announced on Monday that the club has released Graham Glasgow.
Glasgow, 33, was originally a Lions third-round pick in 2016, playing his first four seasons with the franchise. After spending three years with Denver, Glasgow returned to the franchise in 2023.
Last season, Glasgow appeared in 15 games with 14 starts.
Glasgow had one year remaining on his contract without any guaranteed money. By releasing him, the Lions will save $5.56 million against the cap in 2026 with $2.88 million in dead money.
In his 10 seasons, Glasgow has appeared in 147 career games with 136 starts.
The Lions agreed to acquire offensive lineman Juice Scruggs from the Texans as part of the David Montgomery deal earlier on Monday. But that trade will not become official until the start of the new league year.
The Lions agreed to trade running back David Montgomery to the Texans today, and Montgomery is saying farewell to his home for the last three years.
“It’s hard to find the right words for a goodbye like this,” Montgomery wrote on social media. “Detroit has never just been a location to me -- it’s been a community. And you all have been more than supporters or a team. You’ve been steady hands, loud cheers, honest feedback, and quiet strength when I needed it most. You believed in me when things were uncertain. You stood beside me through challenges. You showed up -- consistently, fiercely, unapologetically. There is something special about the people here. The resilience. The loyalty. The way you don’t just support someone -- you ride with them. I have felt that from each of you, and I will never take that lightly. This isn’t goodbye because something ended. It’s goodbye because something grew. And growth sometimes calls us forward. Please know this: Everything I do next carries a piece of Detroit with it.”
In his three seasons with the Lions, Montgomery totaled 562 carries for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns, plus 76 catches for 650 receiving yards. But after being a starter his first two years, last season Montgomery’s role in the offense was reduced, as he became a backup to Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Texans gave up offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, a 2026 fourth-round draft pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick for Montgomery. Paying that price and paying Montgomery $6 million this season shows the Texans view Montgomery as a starter. Going to a team where he’ll be the No. 1 running back may make this a trade that benefits everyone involved.
Running back David Montgomery publicly denied the report that he wanted out of Detroit.
Well, he’s now headed elsewhere anyway.
According to multiple reports, the Lions have agreed to trade Montgomery to the Texans.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Lions will receive a Houston fourth-round pick, offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, and a seventh-round pick in exchange for Montgomery.
Montgomery, 28, saw his role in Detroit’s offense reduced in 2025 as Jahmyr Gibbs continued to ascend at running back. He finished the season with 716 yards rushing with eight touchdowns, also catching 24 passes for 192 yards.
Lions General Manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell expressed a desire to keep Montgomery around at the scouting combine last week. But that plan has apparently changed with the Texans’ offer.
Woody Marks led the Texans last season with 703 yards rushing with Nick Chubb finishing second with 506 yards on the ground. Joe Mixon did not play after sitting out the season with an injury. It was reported last week that Mixon is expected to be released with a failed physical designation.
The Montgomery trade cannot become official until the start of the new league year on March 11.
Lions General Manager Brad Holmes said in January that the team would consider trading running back David Montgomery this offseason and a report on Sunday indicates that’s something Montgomery would like to see happen.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Montgomery would like to move on to another team. Fowler adds that the Lions would be looking for a “decent” Day 3 pick in the draft in return for a player who has moved behind Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield pecking order in Detroit.
Montgomery responded to the report on Twitter by writing “damn, Dmo told you that?” and Holmes said this week that the Lions would love to have him back, although he acknowledged that “a player has to want to be in a certain place as well.”
Montgomery, who is heading into his eighth NFL season, ran 158 times for 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025.
Last week, two men with potential ties to Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold were arrested in Tampa on charges including armed robbery and kidnapping. Earlier this week, a judge mentioned Arnold several times in a court order detaining another man who allegedly orchestrated an effort to recover property that had been stolen from an Airbnb that Arnold had rented.
Earlier today, Arnold’s lawyer issued a statement insisting that Arnold had “no involvement whatsoever” in the alleged crimes.
In a seven-page decision issued on Tuesday, Hillsborough County Circuit Judge J. Logan Murphy concluded that Boakai Hilton was the alleged mastermind of the plan to lure the suspected thieves into an apartment where they were allegedly held and beaten.
As explained by Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News, Arnold filed a police report on February 3, following two robberies in which thieves allegedly stole high-end bags, guns, jewelry, a cellphone, and $100,000 in cash.
In his order, Murphy wrote that the armed robbery and kidnapping resulted directly from “Arnold and his friends” deciding to “take matters into their own hands.”
“While traveling in a car with Arnold back from Tallahassee, Hilton orchestrates the ambush,” Murphy explained.
Arnold has not been charged or arrested. Still, Murphy’s order clearly connected Arnold to the incident. In it, Murphy wrote that Arnold hired a man named Yan Lopez to serve as Arnold’s private driver. The robberies happened while Lopez was working for Arnold and his friends.
From the order: “Arnold began to suspect that Lopez may have had a hand in the burglaries. And though they had reported the theft to . . . authorities, Arnold and his friends decided to take matters into their own hands.”
The order also contended, based on text messages, that a woman named Arianna Del Valle (Arnold’s girlfriend, per Murphy’s order) instructed Jasmine Randazzo to lure the suspected thieves to her apartment, to (per Murphy’s order) “act as bait . . . with promises that Arnold and his friends would pay Randazzo for doing so.”
Once the suspected thieves were inside, they were allegedly pistol-whipped and held at gunpoint.
From the order: “There, one of the defendants stuck the barrel of his firearm into Lopez’s mouth, demanding he return the stolen property and Arnold’s phone. Before the victims left, the co-defendants took their phones and wallets. This was all done ostensibly to get Lopez [and two others] to admit that they stole the property from the AirBNB, which they never do. . . . Text messages between Del Valle and Randazzo show that Del Valle has been instructed to hold the victims in the bedroom until '[T]errion [a]nd Boakai [Hilton] and Fredo [another friend]’ arrive at the apartment complex.”
Here’s the full statement issued by Arnold’s lawyer, R. Timothy Jansen:
“I represent Mr. Terrion Arnold in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred on February 4, 2026, in Tampa, Florida, which resulted in the arrest of five individuals on serious felony charges.
“To be clear, Mr. Arnold had no involvement whatsoever in the activities that led to those arrests. He did not participate in, nor was he present for, any conduct related to the alleged offenses. There is no evidence in police reports, text messages, or witness statements that implicates Mr. Arnold in any way.
“In fact, after direct communication with the lead prosecutor, it has been confirmed that no charges have been filed against Mr. Arnold in connection with this matter.
“Recent media coverage has referenced an Order issued by Circuit Judge J. Logan Murphy, which improperly suggests Mr. Arnold’s involvement in the incident. That same Order also incorrectly identifies Ms. Devalle as Mr. Arnold’s girlfriend. Both assertions are false, misleading, and entirely unsupported by the record.
“Mr. Arnold categorically denies these unfounded claims and maintains his complete innocence. He was not involved in the crimes allegedly committed on February 4, 2026, in Tampa, Florida.
“We strongly urge members of the media to refrain from perpetuating inaccurate or speculative narratives. The facts are clear, and they do not support any claim of wrongdoing by Mr. Arnold.”
Obviously, Jansen is advocating for Arnold. Murphy’s order nevertheless says what it says. Arnold is connected to the situation, even if there’s no evidence that he was directly involved in the effort to recover the stolen property via allegedly illegal means.
If, as Bianchi reports, Arnold filed the police report regarding the thefts, Arnold had a clear interest in getting his things back. Common sense suggests that Hilton and others allegedly acted without Arnold knowing about it, or that they allegedly acted with Arnold aware of what was happening. Put simply, Arnold either knew what was happening or he didn’t.
Again, Arnold has not been accused of any wrongdoing. But the case has expanded from two defendants last week to five. It’s possible that the authorities will attempt to squeeze the current defendants into implicating Arnold, despite his lawyer’s insistence that Arnold had no involvement whatsoever in the situation.
Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.
The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.
The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:
1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).
