FOXBORO, Mass. — Toward the end of his Wednesday morning news conference, Bill Belichick was asked whether he expected injured running back Ty Montgomery to return this season.
“Take it day by day,” the Patriots head coach said with a smile.
New England apparently isn’t taking things “day by day” with Montgomery, who’s been on injured reserve since suffering a mysterious injury during the season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins. Because, roughly 15 minutes after Belichick ended his news conference, Jim McBride of The Boston Globe reported that Montgomery will miss the remainder of the 2022 campaign after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
The news isn’t that surprising, as ESPN’s Mike Reiss recently indicated that Montgomery could sit out the season due to an upper-body injury. What is surprising are the specifics of Montgomery’s injury, including when he suffered it.
The veteran running back appeared to suffer a significant knee/ankle injury during the Patriots’ preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders, but he eventually was cleared to play in Week 1 at Hard Rock Stadium. When Montgomery landed on IR days later, many assumed it was due to an aggravation of the injury he dealt with late in the summer.
However, McBride noted that Montgomery actually suffered the shoulder injury midway through the Dolphins game, in which he scored New England’s lone touchdown. So, the Patriots shouldn’t be criticized for potentially rushing Montgomery back for the season opener.
Montgomery was busy during training camp and appeared primed for a major role in New England’s offense, especially as a passing-down back. With Montgomery now out for the rest of the campaign, expect Rhamondre Stevenson to continue serving as an all-downs back in the Patriots running game.
