By Nick Shook, Around The NFL Writer
An already costly play from Monday night’s game in Tampa became even more expensive Friday.
Upon review, the NFL determined Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith performed a hip-drop tackle on Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin in Baltimore’s win and has fined the linebacker over $16,000, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
A hip-drop tackle is officially defined as when a player grabs a runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and then unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.
The tackle resulted in a season-ending ankle dislocation for Godwin, who underwent surgery on the injured ankle this week. It also drew criticism of Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles, who had kept Godwin on the field in the final minute of a game his team was unlikely to win.
At first glance on the television broadcast, it didn’t appear as though Smith performed a hip-drop tackle. However, All-22 footage shot from the end zone shows Smith contacting Godwin with his upper body and wrapping both arms around him. Immediately after making contact, Smith’s legs swing forward and his body lands on Godwin’s left leg, causing the ankle injury.
Smith was not flagged for the tackle during the game.
Outcomes like Monday night’s are precisely why the league banned the hip-drop tackle during the Annual League Meeting in March. It isn’t the first notable hip-drop tackle resulting in injury — Texans running back Joe Mixon was taken down by Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards via a hip-drop tackle in Week 2, causing a high-ankle sprain that cost Mixon three games — but it has produced the most significant injury to a star player this season. Despite the league’s efforts, it’s clear the tackle won’t disappear from football immediately, as Smith became the 10th player to be fined for the tackle this season.
The injury ended a season that could have been Godwin’s best of his career. Through seven weeks, he’d racked up a league-leading 50 receptions for 576 yards and five touchdowns, serving as the perfect complement to Buccaneers star Mike Evans in an explosive offense.
Evans also exited Monday night’s game with a hamstring injury, making for a nightmarish evening for the Buccaneers.