Salvon Ahmed was taken off the Colts’ practice field on a cart and transported to a hospital on Sunday following an incident where a defender brought him down with an illegal hip-drop tackle. 

Ahmed suffered a severe lower right leg injury from the play and had X-rays done at the hospital. 

“You never want to witness that,” coach Shane Steichen commented. “We don’t promote hip-drop tackles. I know Trey [Washington] feels terrible, and I don’t believe he intended it. We’re simply working on building a competitive edge. … Those [backups] will need to tackle during the preseason games.”

The injury happened during what is known as a developmental period in practice, which involves third-string players, according to ESPN. At this time, the team permitted tackling during the drills.

Ahmed took a handoff and Washington, an undrafted free agent, chased him down as he crossed the goal line. 

Practice came to a screeching halt at that point as the running back grabbed at his ankle and was in significant pain as trainers came out to evaluate the situation. 

Ahmed was eventually placed on a stretcher and taken off the field on a cart. 

Hip-drop tackles have been banned in the NFL due to their propensity for creating injuries.

The injury occurred with 15 minutes left in practice, and after meeting with team leadership, Steichen continued the session. 

“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 two-minute situation in. Felt that we needed that. They were on board with that.”

Ahmed was hoping to make the Colts this season after spending last year on the team’s practice squad. 

He has four years of NFL experience under his belt, all with the Dolphins from 2020-23.