Tuesday's injury update out of the Motor City proved exactly why the Detroit Lions needed the first-round bye. Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reported both running back David Montgomery and cornerback Terrion Arnold were full participants in Tuesday’s practice.
#Lions RB David Montgomery (knee) and CB Terrion Arnold (foot) were listed as full participants in practice on today’s estimated injury report.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 14, 2025
It’s the perfect news for the most dangerous team on the NFC’s side of the NFL Playoffs. Getting the other half of their dynamic duo in the backfield and their top, young cornerback is going to be critical for the Lions as they look to return to the NFC Championship Game.
The Lions have been the most banged-up team in the NFL and despite it, managed to be the No. 1 seed. Now they’re getting healthy at the right time. Montgomery’s been out since Week 15 in a loss to Buffalo.
That opened up former first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs to take over as the true feature back. He did well in the role as expected. But getting Montgomery back for the playoffs to one of the NFL’s most potent offenses couldn’t come at a better time.
Lions getting healthy at the right time is a problem for the rest of the NFC
The Washington Commanders need to beware of the Lions this weekend. They’re getting healthy just before Saturday’s game and it means it became a lot harder for the Commanders to pull off a win.
The biggest pickup for the Lions has to be getting Arnold back healthy. Their defense is depleted and they’re particularly thin at corner. Arnold played an important role in slowing down the Vikings offense in the season finale.
The most intriguing thing about these Lions right now is regardless of how injured they are, they’re still winning. And getting healthy at the right time only makes them more dangerous. It won’t be an easy Divisional Round game against the Commanders.
They stunned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs on a walk-off field goal. Jayden Daniels is looking to continue the hot streak and it just got a little bit harder.
The Detroit Lions are still dealing with injuries to their defense particularly, but they’re trending in the right direction. Arnold will have a tough task in shadowing Terry McLaurin, who’s already stirring up energy ahead of the game.
This game should be as good as advertised and with the Lions getting healthy again, expect this game to be extremely exciting.