Video: Ravens’ Roquan Smith Talks Tackle that Injured Chris Godwin in Win vs. Bucs

Julia StumbaughOctober 24, 2024

Kara Durrette/Getty Images

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith says he is hoping for Chris Godwin’s “speedy recovery” after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver suffered a season-ending ankle injury on a tackle from Smith on Monday night.

Smith was not flagged on the play, which the NFL is currently reviewing.

“First and foremost, just send prayers, and a speedy recovery to Chris,” Smith said on Thursday. “Got a lot of respect for him as a player, what he’s accomplished throughout this league, and the little I’ve seen of him, seems like a really good dude… You never want to see anybody go down with any type of injury, but we play a very physical game, and it demands a lot. Bullets are flying pretty fast.

“But I never go into any game to injure any player. I want every player to go back home, safe and sound to their family. Maybe a little sore, but other than that.”

Jamison Hensley @jamisonhensleyRoquan Smith on whether his tackle on Chris Godwin on Monday night was a hip-drop one: “I never go into any game meaning to injure any player. I want every player to go back home safe and sound to their family — maybe a little sore.” pic.twitter.com/YiVWfZFmDo

Smith declined to discuss whether he had heard from the NFL following the league’s decision to review the tackle on Godwin to see if it qualifies as a banned hip-drop tackle.

“That’s not really something to discuss in this moment,” Smith told reporters.

According to the NFL, a hip-drop tackle occurs “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.”

A tackle qualifies for the penalty is the defender “grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms,” and “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,” according to the league.

The tackle in question occurred in the final minute of the Buccaneers’ 41-31 loss, when Smith ended Godwin’s 21-yard catch-and-run with a tackle.

Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles reported after the game that Godwin had suffered a dislocated ankle, and confirmed on Tuesday that the wideout would undergo surgery.

The injury cut short what was shaping up to be a career season for Godwin, who was playing on an expiring contract in his eighth campaign with the Buccaneers. At the time of his injury, he led all NFL receivers with 50 catches, ranked second with 576 receiving yards and tied for third with five receiving touchdowns.

The NFL has so far fined at least seven players for hip-drop tackles, including Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards, who was levied a $16,883 fine for a Week 2 play that caused running back Joe Mixon to miss three games with an ankle injury. Smith could be in for a similar fine if the NFL decides the tackle on Godwin fits their criteria.