Chris Godwin suffered a season-ending injury late in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, and the player who delivered the hit could be facing a fine.
Godwin caught a pass for a big gain with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ 41-31 win over the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. His left leg got caught underneath him as Baltimore linebacker Roquan Smith made the tackle. You can see the play here.
The end result was a dislocated ankle for Godwin, which will require surgery. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the play will be reviewed to see if Smith used the hip-drop tackle technique, which was banned beginning this season.
The tackle that Chris Godwin was hurt on appears to have all the elements of a hip drop tackle. The play is now under review, per sources, and if it is officially determined to be a hip drop tackle, Ravens LB Roquan Smith would be subject to a fine.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 22, 2024
The NFL describes a hip-drop tackle as “when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle.” You can see another angle of the Smith tackle:
Blurring the injury suffered to Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin, here’s the hip-drop tackle by Ravens LB Roquan Smith that caused Godwin’s ankle to dislocate.
From the NFL: A hip-drop tackle is when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting… https://t.co/VJ5m61BUoL pic.twitter.com/u68qaZcceT
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) October 22, 2024
The hip-drop tackle has received increasing attention in recent years. Earlier in the season, Houston Texans star Joe Mixon expressed outrage over a similar tackle that left him with an ankle injury. Though, that play looked far more egregious than what Smith did.
Had Godwin not suffered a gruesome ankle injury, there is a good chance no one would have thought anything of Smith’s hit. But because of the result, disciplinary action seems likely.
