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By Matt Levine
Contributing Sports Writer
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Linebacker Roquan Smith of the Baltimore Ravens has been fined a little over $16K for an illegal hip-drop tackle that resulted in an injury to Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin. He was placed on the team's injured reserve list for the issue. Smith now has received his punishment for the moment.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported the news on social media.
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The NFL has been trying to eliminate hip-drop tackles this season, so this injury was an unfortunate one. This play occurred in the final minute of the game and was even more costly since the Buccaneers had lost star wide receiver Mike Evans earlier in the contest.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles spoke about the injury after the fact. He didn't make any excuses and knows that losing Godwin will hurt this team's overall chances.
"Our prayers go out to him," Todd Bowles said. "Chris is a hell of a player and a hell of a human being. Not much you can say. You feel bad for him, and unfortunately, they're not going to cancel the games. We got to step up and move on. But our hearts are heavy."
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Godwin had reeled in 50 receptions for 576 yards and five touchdowns this season. He was on pace to break his career highs in almost every category but will likely be out for the season due to this injury.
Bowles said that if Tampa Bay were to make a late playoff run, he could return. But the likelihood of that remains low.
"There's a chance if we make a late playoff run, he could be back," Bowles said of Godwin, whom he said did have some additional structural damage to the ankle, "but he's undergoing surgery and he's going to be out."
Bowles also provided a health update on Evans, saying that he would likely miss a few weeks due to his hamstring injury.
"It's pretty sore. I don't know what the significance of that is either, but he's going to miss a couple weeks," Bowles said.
Losing both star wideouts in one game is a tough blow to the Buccaneers.
They have rookie Jalen McMillan and veterans Sterling Shepard and Trey Palmer, who will need to fill Godwin's role. Each of them will need to heavily step up if Tampa Bay wants to remain competitive this season.
For more Buccaneers news, make sure to head over to Newsweek Sports.
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