The tackle that injured Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin Monday night is reportedly being investigated by the NFL to see if it contains elements of the hip-drop takedown, which the NFL banned from play in March.
The tackle happened in the final minute of Monday night’s game between the Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens, which the Ravens won 41-31. Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith and another Ravens defender ran at Godwin, who was trying to get a first down, and it was Smith who ended up dropping Godwin to the ground.
It was immediately obvious after the play that Godwin was in a lot of pain. He was eventually carted off and head coach Todd Bowles said after the game that Godwin likely had a dislocated ankle. He will reportedly have surgery this week and miss the rest of the season.
While the tackle wasn’t identified as a hip-drop on the field, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that the tackle “appears to have all the elements” of a hip-drop tackle. Here’s the definition of a hip-drop tackle, straight from the NFL’s football operations website.
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.
If it had been identified as a hip-drop tackle on the field, the Ravens would have been given a 15-yard penalty, the Bucs would have been awarded an automatic first down, and Smith would have been automatically fined $16,883 (the same as with horse-collar tackles, blindside blocks, etc). Smith will still be fined if the NFL determines he used a hip-drop tackle on Godwin.