Jahmyr Gibbs no longer has his tag-team partner around.
The Detroit Lions made the decision on Monday to trade away running back David Montgomery, sending him to an AFC team in exchange for multiple assets. The move ended Montgomery’s tenure in Detroit after three seasons.
In response, the fellow Lions running back Gibbs had a sad post on social media. He posted the video game characters Sonic and Knuckles walking past each other in opposite directions with tears in their eyes.
Jahmyr Gibbs is all of us. pic.twitter.com/D8zKEtznb8
— Emily Waldon (@EmilyCWaldon) March 3, 2026
Gibbs and Montgomery had formed a dynamic duo in the Detroit backfield over the last few years. With Gibbs specializing in speed and elusiveness (like Sonic the Hedgehog) and Montgomery delivering the power and physicality (like Knuckles), the two RBs had earned the joint nickname of “Sonic and Knuckles.”
Ultimately though, Montgomery wanted out of Detroit. He regressed in 2025 after taking a total backseat to Gibbs in the offense and even shaded the Lions over social media at one point. We then heard earlier this week that the 28-year-old Montgomery was pushing for a move out of Detroit.
The Lions are fully committed to Gibbs, 23, as their workhorse back, especially after a 2025 campaign in which he started in all 17 games and rushed for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns. Beyond that, it sounds like Detroit is more than willing to turn to free agency or to the draft in order to find a new understudy for Gibbs.
