NFL fines Bucs QB Baker Mayfield for grabbing Roquan Smith's facemask

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has been fined an amount of $11,255 for grabbing the facemask of Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith in Monday night’s game, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports.

The play occurred during the third quarter as Mayfield was scrambling and trying to convert a first down. He reached out to stiff arm Smith and avoid the tackle, but clearly grabbed his facemask and pulled on it in the process.

The fine against Baker Mayfield for his facemask was one of a number of penalties the NFL gave out from the contest between the Buccaneers and Ravens. Smith was also fined $16,883 for a hip drop tackle on Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin, who suffered a season-ending injury as a result.

Tampa Bay would go on to lose the game against the Ravens by a score of 41-31. Mayfield finished 31-of-45 passing for 370 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.

Mayfield and the Buccaneers will get a chance to get back on the winning track when they face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Chris Godwin injury: Ravens LB Roquan Smith receives punishment for illegal hip-drop tackle

The NFL has fined Baltimore Ravens (5-2) linebacker Roquan Smith $16,883 for the hip-drop tackle that resulted in Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3) receiver Chris Godwin suffering a dislocated ankle in the fourth quarter of Monday’s Week 7 contest.

The league determined Smith’s tackle on Godwin to be a hip-drop, prohibited during games. It is at least the ninth such instance this season, though there have been zero on-field penalties for the play through seven weeks, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. The tackle warrants a 15-yard loss and an automatic first down.

The NFL has sought to outlaw the hip-drop tackle from the game, citing an injury rate 20-25 times higher than that of other tackles.

Under the NFL rulebook, a hip-drop tackle is defined as a technique where the defender either grabs or wraps a runner with both hands or arms, then unweighting himself by “swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this report.