The Detroit Lions are officially on the hunt for a new No. 2 running back behind star Jahmyr Gibbs after trading David Montgomery to the Houston Texans on Monday in exchange for two draft picks and offensive lineman Juice Scruggs.
The hope heading into the offseason was that Detroit wouldn’t need to find an RB2, especially with the addition of new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who had success running the ball with the Arizona Cardinals. With that in mind, it seemed like the Lions felt like it was a good time to let Montgomery go, who saw his role change in 2025.
Detroit now has to decide on how it wants to fill Montgomery’s role in the coming weeks. Do they want to draft a rookie RB in April? Sign a free agent? Or maybe roll with an in-house option such as Sione Vaki?
In a perfect world, Vaki would be the next in line to replace Montgomery, considering that Detroit spent a fourth-round pick on him a couple of years ago. However, based on what he’s done over the first two years of his career, it seems like that ship has sailed.
Sione Vaki Is Likely a Long Shot to Be David Montgomery’s Replacement
In his first two years with the Lions, the former Utah Ute standout has been a non-factor in the running game. This was due to Craig Reynolds holding the RB3 spot for some time, and Vaki missing games due to injury.
As a rookie in 2024, Vaki appeared in 16 games but spent all of his time playing special teams. He got a brief taste of offense, but didn’t do much, recording 14 yards on six carries and three receptions (three targets) for 37 yards.
Then, this past season, the hope was that Vaki would take the next step to being a contributor on offense. Those dreams were put on hold as Vaki dealt with the injury bug, starting in training camp before continuing into the regular season.
When he was on the field, the Lions kept him on special teams with kick coverage and gave him a couple of opportunities on kick returns. But Jacob Saylors, who was playing in the UFL, took command of the kick return game.
Heading into Year 3, it's hard to envision the Lions throwing Vaki into the mix now, as he hasn’t done much on offense to say he deserves the carries. Detroit would be better off going the free agent route and trying to get a proven option like Brian Robinson, Emanuel Wilson, or Tyler Allgeier if the price is right.
Or as mentioned earlier, the Lions could hitch their wagon to a rookie running back, which wouldn’t be good news for Vaki. At that point, it would be easy to question his future with the club.
Despite being a solid special teams contributor, which is important, Vaki doesn’t bring much to the table on offense, and everyone knows this after two years. The Lions had hopes that they found a diamond in the rough with him, but it appears they’ll have to go back to the drawing board this offseason.