Salvon Ahmed, a rookie running back with the Indianapolis Colts, got tackled and experienced a horrific lower right leg injury. The newcomer tore his Achilles on Wednesday during the Seahawks’ training camp practice. Defender Trey Washington performed an illegal hip-drop tackle, slamming Ahmed down. This came after Ahmed escaped a leg tackle during a live period of tackling for the players. What made this tragedy all the more horrendous was the fact that the Colts were having a developmental practice — mostly third-stringers.
Ahmed, who became a free agent this spring and joined the Indianapolis Colts, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins. As he relayed the back towards the end zone, Washington ran him down from behind. Immediately after the collision, Ahmed hurriedly grabbed for his right ankle. It was pinned at an almost 90 degree angle, indicating the extreme severity of the injury. After the accident, his medical team immediately followed him to a hospital to get X-rays.
Coach Shane Steichen expressed concern regarding the injury during a press briefing, stating that “there’s a lot of thoughts going on in my head during that situation.” He worked with the team leads to stress the need to follow through on the practice. The most important 2-minute drill is just around the corner, and they must be ready. Even with the ultra-competitive nature of training camp, Steichen expressed how important it was to practice safely.
“Never want to see that happen. 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.” – Shane Steichen
The Colts were around 15 minutes from the end of their practice, a normal enough day’s work when the unexpected happened. Addressing a national call for change, Steichen emphasized that though tackling is key in learning skills during the preseason, it should be done safely.
Teammate Zaire Franklin stressed that game reps matter, especially for the guys who are in a dogfight just to make the roster. “There’s guys out here that need those reps to compete and get better,” Franklin stated. He continued, “We’re all just focused on what we need to do to be the best team that we can possibly be so we can win. We’ve got to keep pushing ourselves.”
The hip-drop tackle that injured Ahmed has been a point of contention in the NFL due to its association with numerous lower body injuries. Protecting our players The league prohibited this form of tackle last season as part of their commitment to improving player safety.
The Colts are going through a nightmare right now. They will continue to follow Ahmed’s recovery in real time and shift their training methods to protect the safety of players first. The entire team remains committed to ensuring that we are ready for next season! They’re addressing this incident’s effects on their roster, ownership of a practice and philosophy in general.
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