Chicago Bears: David Montgomery injury not as serious as anticipated

Sunday’s Week 4 victory over the Detroit Lions came with a major price for the Chicago Bears. Starting running back David Montgomery left early in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.

When Montgomery was originally helped off the field, the look on his face signaled major concern. He winced in pain. It was an unusual sight to see on the face of a player known to be one of the tougher backs in the game.

Prior to exiting, Montgomery had carried the ball 23 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

Initially, it appeared as though Montgomery could have suffered a significant and, maybe, season-ending injury. Of course, right away, no one knew just what had happened. However, according to experts, it looks like he avoided such a scare.

Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery appears to have avoided the worst-case scenario for his knee injury.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is just one of a few experts to state that Montgomery likely avoided a major injury. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport also reported as such late on Sunday night.

Probably the most important person to chime in on the injury, though, was Dr. David Chao, also known as “Pro Football Doc.”

Dr. Chao tweeted on Sunday that the video looked like a left MCL sprain — and he’s rarely wrong. If Chao is right, then Montgomery certainly comes out of this less scathed than everyone originally anticipated.

At first glance, Montgomery was in severe pain and grabbing his knee. That’s typically a dead giveaway. Fans immediately assumed it was an ACL injury — and justifiably so, as we’ve seen that face and motion from plenty of guys who have endured such an injury in the past.

The Bears will do further testing on Monday, and hopefully we get a positive update. Montgomery will probably miss a little time if it’s not as serious, and in the meantime we will see former Super Bowl hero Damien Williams take over as the lead back.

In Montgomery’s absence, and also having a few carries throughout the game prior to the injury, Williams rushed for 55 yards on eight carries. He also scored one of the three touchdowns the Bears had on the ground.

To go along with Williams, rookie Khalil Herbert will get some run. He is the primary kickoff return man, but ran well between the tackles during the preseason and Chicago has some faith in the kid on the ground.

The Bears will go into Week 5 preparing for a road game against the Las Vegas Raiders in their brand-new stadium. Again, for now, it looks like it will be Williams in that one. But, we’ll see just what the immediate future tells us as for Montgomery’s injury.