An Indianapolis Colts assistant coach is expected to miss significant time after a scary sideline collision at practice this week left him with a serious knee injury.
The team confirmed that special teams assistant Brian Mason suffered a torn ACL when he was hit by a returner running out of bounds during a full-contact period on Wednesday. Mason went down immediately. Trainers were on the scene within seconds. He was helped off the field and taken for imaging that afternoon.
The Colts did not put an exact timeline on his return. Torn ACLs typically require 6 to 9 months of recovery. In practice, that means Mason is likely done for the 2026 season and will spend the year rehabbing off-field.
Head coach Shane Steichen was blunt about it after Thursday’s practice. He said this is exactly the kind of freak accident that reminds everyone how dangerous NFL practices are, not just for the players, but for the guys standing on the white line running the drill.
Coach injuries at practice are not rare. They are also not something the NFL has ever really solved. Assistants stand within a yard of the sideline every play. Receivers get pushed out of bounds. Cornerbacks run through the whistle. Somebody always gets clipped. Usually it is a bruise. Occasionally it is a torn ACL.
The New York Giants had a similar situation earlier this month when one of their assistants needed stitches after a helmet-to-face collision during a scramble drill. Different sport, same story. If you are close enough to see the drill clearly, you are close enough to get hit.
For the Colts, this is a real staffing problem in addition to a human one. Mason was one of the assistants working directly with the returners on both punt and kickoff. Indianapolis has a new punter and a new kickoff scheme this year. Losing the guy who has been running those installs since May is not something you plaster over in a week.
Steichen indicated that another quality control coach will pick up Mason’s duties in the short term, and that the team is looking at bringing in a veteran retired coach on a temporary basis to help through the season. That kind of hire happens more often than fans realize. There is always a former assistant somewhere in the country who can take a phone call and be in Indianapolis by the weekend.
Mason is expected to remain around the building. Rehab facilities are on site. He can attend meetings, watch tape, and stay involved with the returners without being on the field.
The takeaway is not complicated. Coaches wear their own version of a football helmet, which is to say none at all. They stand two yards from full-speed collisions every single day. Sooner or later, one of them gets hit.
Wishing Mason a full recovery. The Colts season is going to feel a little lighter without him on the sideline.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
