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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost Chris Godwin for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, and Tom Brady is not happy with the way things unfolded against the New Orleans Saints. Brady conceded that the hit on Godwin was a legal hit under the current rules but is pushing for the NFL to ban hits below the knees on receivers.
“Chris got hit in the knees yesterday, which is a play that I think they outta take out of the game of football, from a receiver standpoint,” Brady said during the December 20 episode of his Let’s Go podcast. “I’ve kind of talked to the P.A. [Players Association] about it for a while about I’d like to speak to the rules competition committee at some point this offseason. I’ve seen that hit too many times where a defenseless pass catcher is in the process of catching a ball and he’s hit by the defender and a lot of the defenders will say, ‘Well, we can’t hit him in the head anymore.’
“Well, the point is you can’t hit anyone in the head anymore, you can’t hit anyone in the knees anymore, except for receivers because you can still hit them in the knees which doesn’t make any sense to me. You can’t hit a defensive lineman in the knees. You can’t hit a punter in the knees. You can’t hit a quarterback in the knees. You can’t hit a DB [defensive back] in the knees. Except we’re somehow allowing hits on defenseless receivers in the knees.”
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Brady: Hits Below the Knees ‘Needs to be Addressed’
After initial reports indicated that Godwin had a chance to return for the postseason, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians revealed during his December 20 press conference that the receiver is dealing with a fully-torn ACL. Brady has no doubt that Godwin will make a full recovery but admitted the rehab process will be fierce for the star receiver.
“So, it needs to be addressed and it needs to be really thought out,” Brady added. “It really impacts guys’ careers and Chris, I know he’ll overcome it. It’s a tough rehab, but you tear your ACL. It’s a lifelong injury. I’m sure almost every pass catcher in the NFL would prefer hit to the head over a hit to the knees. I certainly would, I’d take that a million out of a million.”
Godwin on Injury: ‘We Get to Choose Our Response to Adversity’
Godwin posted a heartfelt message on Instagram using a quote about going through a storm. The Bucs receiver thanked everyone who reached out after the news of his injury broke.
“Grateful for everyone who has reached out,” Godwin said on Instagram. “We get to choose our response to adversity. Here’s to gratitude and to the little victories to come. See yall soon, Much Love. #1Fo”
Brady admitted there is an “emotional aspect” that the team has to deal with from watching one of their top players go down for the season.
“He’s a great team player, consummate professional, everyone hates to see him go down,” Brady noted. “So, there’s an emotional aspect of that too, that we all have got to deal with knowing that one of our most dedicated guys isn’t going to be on the field with us for the rest of the year. Which is tough, and he’s got a tough road to overcome, and I know he will because it’s the kind of guy he is.”
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