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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith won his appeal Tuesday for unnecessary roughness on Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin and had his $16,883 fine rescinded by NFL hearing officer Jordy Nelson, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The ruling comes 18 days after the NFL disciplined Smith for what a league source told ESPN’s Jenna Laine was a hip-drop tackle, which resulted in Godwin suffering a season-ending dislocated left ankle.
Under league rules, a hip-drop tackle must involve three criteria: the tackler grabs the ball carrier with both hands or wraps him with both arms; unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body; and then lands on and traps the opponent’s leg(s) at or below the knee.
Smith was not penalized after he made a tackle on Godwin near the end of the Ravens’ 41-31 win at Tampa Bay on Oct. 21. With a minute left, Godwin caught a pass over the middle and shook off a tackle before getting pulled down by Smith. Godwin, who led the NFL with 50 receptions at the time, was carted off the field.
In March, NFL clubs voted unanimously to ban hip-drop tackles. The league reviewed 20,000 tackles from 2022-23 and determined that hip-drop tackles cause lower extremity injuries at a rate 20 times higher than other tackles.
Before being fined, Smith never acknowledged whether his tackle was of the hip-drop variety.
“You never want to see anybody go down with any type of injury, but we play a very physical game, and it demands a lot,” Smith said Oct. 24. “Bullets are flying pretty fast, but I never go into any game to injure any player. I want every player to go back home safe and sound to their family — maybe a little sore — but other than that, I definitely want you to get back home to your family all safe and sound.”
This is the second time Smith has won an appeal. In Week 1, Smith was fined $16,833 for a horse-collar tackle at Kansas City. But that fine was later rescinded as well.
Smith, 27, is a two-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker who ranks fourth in the NFL with 97 tackles.