Report: Roquan Smith Broke NFL Hip-Drop Tackle Rule on Chris Godwin Hit, Fined $16K

Adam WellsOctober 25, 2024

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The tackle that likely ended Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin’s season resulted in a fine for Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith.

Per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the NFL has determined that Smith used a hip-drop tackle to bring down Godwin, who suffered a dislocated ankle on the play, late in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 41-31 win for the Ravens.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Smith was fined “a little over $16,000.”

Jones reported on Tuesday that the league was reviewing the play to determine if it met the definition of a hip-drop tackle.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said that Godwin would have surgery on his ankle that would likely keep him out for the rest of the season, but he would have a “chance” to return if they made a deep playoff run.

NFL owners unanimously voted during the offseason to approve a rule change that would remove the hip-drop tackle after a league study of more than 20,000 tackles from the previous two seasons showed lower extremity injuries occurred at a rate 20 times higher than other tackles.

The league’s definition of a hip-drop tackle is when a player “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 at or below the knee.”

A hip-drop tackle results in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down, but Jones noted that nine such instances of the hip-drop tackle that have been identified by the NFL so far this season haven’t resulted in a flag.

Four players received fines from the NFL stemming from hip-drop tackle violations in Week 2. The league holds the right to determine the amount of the fine for a violation based on the severity of the tackle.

Godwin’s injury came after the Buccaneers lost Mike Evans earlier in the game against Baltimore due to a hamstring injury. Evans is expected to be out until after Tampa’s bye in Week 11.

The Bucs (4-3) have lost two of their last three games and are tied with the Atlanta Falcons for first place in the NFC South.