Indianapolis Colts special teams coordinator Brian Mason was injured on the sideline during the final play of the team's preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday night, resulting in a 13-13 tie. Mason, 39, was hit low and appeared to be in significant pain as he was tended to by medical personnel.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen confirmed that Mason was being evaluated for his knee following the incident. "He got rolled up right on the sideline that last play," Steichen said postgame. "So we’ll see. He’s getting evaluated for his knee right now."
Mason is entering his fourth season as the Colts' special teams coordinator. In the previous season, his unit performed well, ranking second in the NFL in kickoff return average at 28.8 yards and allowing the lowest opponent punt return average at 6.3 yards. Despite using three different kickers, the Colts achieved the second-highest field goal percentage in the league last season at 94.4%.
Mason joined the Colts in 2022 after spending one season as the special teams coordinator at Notre Dame. Prior to his college coaching roles, which included time at Cincinnati and as a student assistant at Denison, Mason served as Cincinnati's director of recruiting and special teams assistant. He was promoted to special teams coordinator at Cincinnati in 2018 and remained in that role until 2021.