The Indianapolis Colts got quite a scare at training camp on Sunday. Running back Salvon Ahmed was taken down by an illegal hip-drop tackle, taken off the field on a stretcher and then immediately sent for X-rays.
The details of the injury are still unkown, but head coach Shane Steichen said that the fifth-year running back suffered a “severe leg injury.”
“Ahmed suffered the injury on Sunday,” writes Jason Owens of Yahoo! Sports. “Per reporters on the scene, Ahmed broke free for a long run during a live 11-on-11 drill in which tackling was permitted. According to reports, undrafted rookie safety Trey Washington chased Ahmed down from behind and dragged him down via an illegal hip-drop tackle.”
James Boyd of The Athletic writes that, “Ahmed immediately grabbed his lower right leg and screamed in agony after the tackle.”
Steichen and the team were understandably a little shaken by the incident.
“Never want to see that happen,” Steichen said. “I know we don’t encourage hip-drop tackles. I know Trey’s down in the dumps, and I don’t think he’s trying to do that. We’re just trying to create an edge. … Those [backups] are going to have to tackle come preseason.”
Despite the injury to Salvon Ahmed, the Colts finished practice
Following the injury, Steichen talked to some of his team leaders to decide how to proceed. With just about 15 minutes left to the practice session, they could have just called it a day. But, they ultimately decided to carry on and finish up.
“There’s guys out here that need those reps to compete and get better,” said linebacker Zaire Franklin. “We’re trying to be the best team that we can be so we can win. We’ve got to keep pushing ourselves.”
Steichen said it was important for the guys to get some extra reps in.
“There’s a lot of thoughts going on in my head during that situation,” he said. “I talked to some of the leaders on the team. We wanted to get that last 2-minute situation in. Felt that we needed that. They were on board with that.”
The hip-drop tackle is now illegal
In March of 2024, the NFL outlawed the hip-drop tackle. Why is it dangerous and illegal? I could write about it, or you can just watch for yourself:
Even though the rule is designed to protect players, the NFLPA still didn’t like the banning of the tackle.
“We cannot support a rule change that causes confusion for us as players, for coaches, for officials and especially, for fans,” the NFLPA said in a statement in 2024.
The NFL rule states that it’s a penalty when a defender does the following:
“(a) grabs the runner with one or both hands or wraps the runner with both arms; and (b) unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and/or trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”
So, don’t do that or the refs will get heated.
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