In his playing days, few hit harder than Ryan Clark. A player willing to sacrifice his body and level heavy blows. Minkah Fitzpatrick’s hit on Cleveland Browns RB Nick Chubb last night wasn’t to that level, it wasn’t Clark taking out Wes Welker or Willis McGahee, but it was a safety flying downhill and putting his full body into Chubb. Unfortunately, Fitzpatrick connected right with Chubb’s knee, leading to a horrific injury that will almost certainly end his season.
Many fans, most of them rooting for the Browns, called Fitzpatrick’s hit dirty. Some called for a suspension. Reacting on Twitter, Clark defended Fitzpatrick and scolded the NFL for going soft. Clark tweeted:
“If a defender goes high and a player gets concussed he’s dirty! If a defender goes low and a player gets a lower extremity injury he’s dirty. Where can he hit a runner then y’all? I mean sheesh. The growing softness of this game and the sensitivity of those who watch it saddens me.”
ESPN did not show a close-up replay of the hit and we won’t share it either here. But here is the play as it happened live with announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman immediately being told the injury was so grotesques the truck wasn’t going to air it again.
Fitzpatrick himself was briefly shaken up on the play and missed the next snap, a touchdown by Chubb’s backup Jerome Ford.
While it was a physical hit, it’s obvious Fitzpatrick did nothing wrong or with malicious intent. The NFL has understandably lowered the strike zone to protect player’s heads and Chubb is one of the biggest and most physical backs in football. For a smaller defensive back, going low is the best and, frankly, only option. Unfortunately, it can lead to moments like these.
Fitzpatrick is a professional player and certainly not a dirty one. He simply looked to make a stop near the goal line on one of the best backs in football. And even putting aside Clark’s broader commentary on how soft the NFL has gone, Fitzpatrick did what he had to do in that moment. Clark wasn’t the only one defending him. Former NFL defensive back Jason McCourty, now a co-host of Good Morning Football, also defended Fitzpatrick’s actions.
“I don’t think it was intentionally dirty,” McCourty said. “The way you get a back down, you have to go low. If you’re Minkah Fitzpatrick, you can’t tackle a Nick Chubb up high. He’s going to run right through you.”
The bottom line is this: Fitzpatrick made a clean, legal tackle. There was no penalty and there should be no fine. It’s not even a discussion. The result was unexpected and unfortunate, a terrible on-field moment for Chubb, one of the league’s top runners and people, and for a Browns organization counting on him. But at the end of the day, it’s football. Both teams will move on and hopefully, Chubb has as speedy of a recovery as possible.
