NFL preseason usually comes with one unwritten rule: injuries. Mostly it is limited to the players, but well, football doesn’t always play by the script. For the Indianapolis Colts, that reminder came on the final play of Thursday night’s preseason opener.
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On the preseason opener against the New England Patriots, team coordinator Brian Mason was caught in a sideline collision on the final play of the game.
The entire ordeal happened when two players were locked up while blocking each other before they ran toward the sideline and slammed into Mason. His reaction immediately made it clear that something was seriously wrong.
The special teams coordinator immediately fell to the ground, twisting and screaming in intense pain while holding his right knee. Medical personnel quickly attended to him before taking him to the locker room for further evaluation.
“He got rolled up right on the sideline that last play,” Colts head coach Shane Steichen revealed later. “So we’ll see. He’s getting evaluated for his knee right now.”
According to reports, Mason traveled with the team back to Indianapolis on Thursday night. While that was encouraging news, new reports have come that raise alarms.
According to Indianapolis Star Colts insider Joel A. Erickson, Mason has torn multiple knee ligaments. That leaves the Colts with a rather unfamiliar challenge to figure out.
The Colts can bet on Mason to keep coaching with a knee injury; however, they would need to make adjustments. This is not a situation that NFL teams are typically geared up for, so the team seemingly is in the dark. And this is even what an insider has confirmed.
“The Colts haven’t gotten that far into next steps yet,” mentioned James Boyd of The Athletic regarding the team’s potential plan ahead.
Mason could coach from the booth or the Colts could look for an in-house replacement. Joe Hastings is the team’s senior assistant special teams coach and could potentially take on additional responsibilities. There is at least some precedent for a coach finding a way to work through a serious injury.
In 2011, then New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton tore his MCL and suffered a tibia fracture. After surgery, he moved to the coaching booth after the game and called plays from upstairs. He later returned to the sidelines and used crutches.
For now, the Colts will have to figure out their own path forward, because there seems to be no single blueprint they can follow. The timing couldn’t be worse for Indianapolis, as the team looks to bounce back from consecutive 8-9 campaigns and break a five-season postseason slump.
Moreover, Mason’s role has become increasingly important to the team’s overall performance. He is entering his fourth season with Indianapolis as the special teams coordinator, and the Colts are relying on him to help take the unit to another level this year.
The Colts ranked second in the NFL in kickoff return average in 2025, averaging 28.8 yards per return. They also allowed the lowest opponent punt return average in the league at 6.3 yards.
“I try to teach those guys to have something, so they’re not thinking about 10 things [or] the crowd. They’re just locked in on the one thing that they want to focus on improving,” Mason said after last Thursday’s practice.
The special teams coordinator has also worked with three different kickers during the last season: Spencer Shrader, Blake Grupe and Michael Badgley. Under Mason, Shrader scored 51 points during the first four weeks of the season, becoming the first player in franchise history to reach that mark in the opening month.
Grupe on the other hand, made history by converting a 60-yard field goal against the Seattle Seahawks last year. It was the longest field goal in Colts franchise history.
The game itself ended 13-13 after the Colts tied the score with a 61-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots then missed a 49-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds. Because preseason games do not go to overtime, the contest ended in a tie.
The Colts won’t take the field again until Saturday, August 22, against the Atlanta Falcons, giving the team some time to figure out how it will handle Mason’s responsibilities.