The fallout from Tampa Bay wide receiver Chris Godwin's season-ending ankle injury in the final minute of Monday Night's Ravens-Buccaneers game will include reviewing the play for a possible fine.
NFL Network Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday that the NFL is examining Baltimore linebacker Roquan Smith's tackle on Godwin to see if it meets the criteria of a hip-drop tackle, which was banned in March at the Annual League Meeting.
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.
At first glance, it is difficult to tell if Smith swiveled or dropped his hip with all his weight while going low on Godwin, and he was not flagged for the tackle.
Nonetheless, the league believes the play warrants a closer look.
Godwin was in the midst of a potentially career year through seven weeks. He leads the NFL in receptions with 50 and has tallied 576 receiving yards with five touchdowns.
His injury is one of the more high-profile ones to potentially be grouped under the new hip-drop tackle ban.
In Week 2, Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon suffered a high ankle sprain that caused him to miss three games after Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards took him down illegally using a hip-drop tackle. Edwards also was not flagged during the game, but he later received a $16,833 fine.
If the NFL deems Smith used a similar tackling mechanism, he could be in for a similar dock in pay.
