Indianapolis Colts running back Salvon Ahmed’s NFL season is in jeopardy.
And it’s due to a reported hip-drop tackle by a teammate during training camp.
Ahmed suffered the injury on Sunday. 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.
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Per The Athletic’s James Boyd, “Ahmed immediately grabbed his lower right leg and screamed in agony” after the tackle. ESPN’s Stephen Holder reports that Ahmed’s right ankle was “stuck in an awkward position.”
Practice was paused, and trainers removed Ahmed from the field on a stretcher. Ahmed was transported to a local hospital for X-rays. The precise nature of Ahmed’s injury wasn’t immediately clear. But head coach Shane Steichen told reporters that Ahmed had sustained a “severe leg injury.”
Indianapolis Colts running back Salvon Ahmed suffered a “severe leg injury” at training Sunday, according to head coach Shane Steichen.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Hip-drop tackle is banned in games
The NFL banned the hip-drop tackle prior to the 2024 season via a unanimous vote of team owners. NFL competition committee executive vice president Jeff Miller said prior to the vote that the technique “results in about a 25 times rate of injury as a typical tackle.”
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Per the NFL rulebook, a hip-drop tackle occurs 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.”
Steichen described the tackle that injured Ahmed as a hip-drop tackle and said that Washington was “down in the dumps” because of the injury.
“Never want to see that happen,” Steichen told reporters, per ESPN. “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.”
Ahmed, 26, is approaching his fifth NFL season. He played his first four seasons with the Miami Dolphins as a backup who averaged 4.3 yards per carry and tallied 867 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns in 38 appearances.
Ahmed signed with the Colts this offseason on a one-year, $1.17 million contract with no guaranteed money. Washington signed with the Colts this offseason after four years as a starter at Mississippi.
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Veteran Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin offered his support to both Washington and Ahmed in comments to The Athletic after Sunday’s injury to Ahmed.
“Young Trey, he’s competing for a job, straight up,” Franklin said. “So, he’s out here trying to compete and trying to be better. We’re warriors on that field. When we step on the field, we understand what the possibilities are.
“Obviously, we’re a team. We’re not trying to hurt each other, but at the same time, we’re competing. These guys are trying to feed their families. It’s a part of the game, but definitely a tough break for Salvon and definitely praying for him.”
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