Indianapolis Colts running back Salvon Ahmed may not be playing football anytime soon.
Ahmed had to be taken to the hospital with a leg injury suffered during Sunday’s practice.
ESPN’s Stephen Holder described the injury as “severe.” It occurred when Trey Washington took Ahmed down with a hip-drop tackle. The entire Colts team gathered around to take a knee as the 26-year-old was being put on the stretcher.
It was so bad that the entire field was silent except for Ahmed screaming, F–.”
Tough scenes at Grand Park: After an impressive rush by Salvon Ahmed, a hip drop tackle effectively ends his season as the stretcher/aircast comes out.
The entire campus was dead silent and you could hear Ahmed screaming, ‘F***!’ pic.twitter.com/6uXVrE0Rl8
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) August 3, 2025
Holder added that Salvon Ahmed was placed on a stretcher by paramedics and carted off the field. He was transported to a local hospital for X-rays.
Head coach Shane Steichen told reporters after practice wrapped that the team’s “thoughts and prayers were with Salvon” for a “speedy recovery.”
The hip-drop tackle on Salvon Ahmed was especially heartbreaking since the league banned it 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.”
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.”
Salvon Ahmed is 26 years old and approaching his fifth NFL season.
Ahmed signed with the Colts this offseason on a one-year, $1.17 million contract with no guaranteed money, and now he is likely done for the year.
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 was in a fight for one of the team’s backup running back spots behind Jonathan Taylor.