Tampa Bay Buccaneers star receiver Chris Godwin suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the team's loss to the rival New Orleans Saints on Sunday night, when defender P.J. Williams legally hit him low after a short-yard completion across the middle of the field. A massive blow for the defending champions.
Earlier this week, Tom Brady voiced his frustrations with the tackle on Godwin, saying on his "Let's Go!" podcast that the league should eliminate hits to the knees of defenseless receivers. Although Brady's criticisms aren't shared by all players, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians supports his quarterback's argument, and agrees that rule changes should be addressed.
"It's a legal hit, but I think it has to be under review this year," Arians told the Tiki and Tierney show on Wednesday. "Everybody understands that, you can replace a knee later in life, but you can't replace a brain. But still, your career can end quickly. And [Larry Fitzgerald] was the guy who sold it on me, too. Yeah, I think that hit, just raise it eight inches and it's a quad bruise, maybe.
"It's not an ACL. Yeah, I think the league should look at that. Because with the new rules, you can't cut on screen plays, you can't cut linemen when they're pulling. So, he's got to take him on with his head, that ain't really a fair fight, either. There's some things in those cut rules that have to be looked at again. But that's definitely one that needs to be looked at."
The Bucs will undoubtedly miss Godwin, who led the team in receptions (98), targets (127), and receiving yards (1,103) across 14 games. The injury occurred at a rather inopportune time, as the fifth-year wideout is set to become a free agent in 2022 after playing on the franchise tag this season. Since joining the NFL, Godwin has produced four seasons with 840-plus yards, and according to Spotrac, his current market value is listed at $91 million across five years.
Tampa Bay (10-4), which needs one more win to clinch its first NFC South title since 2007, will visit the division rival Carolina Panthers in a Week 16 matchup on Sunday. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, the Bucs currently have a 5-percent chance to earn the conference's first-round bye and an 8-percent chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
The entire Buccaneers conversation between Arians and Tiki and Tierney can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.