Ineligible receiver
Who is ineligible receiver in American football?
What happens if the ineligible receiver gets the ball?
The ineligible receiver is any player who can’t take part in offensive actions and advance the ball. These executors wear jerseys with numbers 50 to 79. This range includes all defensive players; tackles, backs and ends. The linebackers partly belong to this army as they may use the alternate eligible numbers. Besides, any player behind the center in T-formation also loses its eligibility.
The eligible receiver loses its eligibility if it goes out of bounds before the pass is complete. This rule says that the player stays ineligible even if it returned to the field. But the referee may consider this receiver legal if the defender forced it to do so with a foul, e.g. defensive holding.
All coaches and players themselves must inform the officials about changes in their eligibility. It’s important in critical situations when the eligible receiver leaves the field.