Any hope of Ty Montgomery returning this season was snuffed out with the report that the New England Patriots veteran running back underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.
The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride reported the news on Wednesday.
Montgomery went down with a knee injury in the Patriots’ preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders back in August. He was ultimately placed on injured reserve with the hope that he’d return later in the season.
However, as time went on and he remained out of the lineup, there were growing concerns that he’d suffered some kind of a setback. It ended up being a completely new injury, and it’s the one that’s going to knock him out for the rest of the season.
Montgomery expected to help fill the void left by James White for that change-of-pace option in the backfield. Fortunately for the Patriots, Rhamondre Stevenson evolving into an every-down running back has served as a tremendous safety blanket for the Patriots in a year where Montgomery got hurt and White retired.
The Patriots clearly could have made use of an all-around gadget playmaker like Montgomery, but as long as Stevenson and Damien Harris are tag teaming in the offensive backfield, the rushing attack will be just fine.
