Late in the game on Monday Night Football, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin was tackled by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith on a play that resulted in the former being carted off the field.
Godwin suffered a brutal leg injury on the play and will assuredly miss a lengthy amount of time. Having been second in the NFL in receiving yards to that point, Godwin’s absence will be felt in a massive way for the Tampa Bay offense.
Going back to the play, however, something was not necessarily talked about during the game or even within any postgame coverage.
Because the live broadcast chose not to air a replay of the injury, there wasn’t much room to talk about the nature in which it happened. As it turns out, now that the league has had some time to analyze the events, Smith could be in some hot water.
The Ravens linebacker displayed all elements of what would be designated as a hip drop tackle; a play which the league chose to ban this past offseason. Any play resulting in a called hip drop tackle will result in a penalty and, more than likely, a fine.
And, that’s exactly where this appears to be heading for Smith and the Ravens.
This is the equivalent of somebody breaking your heart but finishing off the difficult conversation by saying, “I really do wish you the best. You’re a wonderful person.”
It doesn’t really matter at this point if Smith gets fined. That does nothing to bring Godwin back to full health and it sends a minor message to Smith and the Ravens who, oh by the way, did win the game.
Now, the focus is on Godwin’s long-term health and how the Bucs are going to replace him.
How will the Bucs choose to replace Chris Godwin going forward?
Not to downplay Godwin’s injury, but the Bucs are a good enough team that they should be looking at how exactly they are going to find help in the wake of this injury. Fortunately, trade talks will be heating up as the November 5 deadline comes closer.
The Bucs have several options available to them on the trade market, both of the pricy and inexpensive caliber. If they wanted to go out on a limb and take a risk, look no further than Cooper Kupp.
The L.A. Rams are willing to trade Kupp but are wanting a second rounder in return, and that doesn’t seem like something Jason Licht would jump at the opportunity to make happen.
However, other options include players like Mike Williams (Jets), DeAndre Hopkins (Titans), Treylon Burks (Titans), Darius Slayton (Giants) or maybe even Diontae Johnson (Panthers).
If no move happens, then it looks like it’ll be on the shoulders of Baker’s buddy, Sterling Shepard, with the help of youngsters Trey Palmer and Jalen McMillan.
