Question on hitting player already OB

[BktBallRef]

So, as long as R1 stayed inbounds, he could continue to block K1 who may be OOB?

Also, thanks for looking up the reference AB.

[ABoselli]

Well, I guess so, but he'd have to have long arms.

I wonder why they put the 'go out of bounds to hit a..' part in there instead of just saying that you can't hit a K player who is OB.

There's a reference to scrimmage kicks and the restrictions (or lack of) on R vs. the gunners in the Markbreit column this week.

[Snake~eyes]

There's no general rule about how players cannot hit eachother at anytime while out of bounds?

[SeanWest]

Snake~Eyes... When this thread first popped up I scoured the NFL rule book for applicable references and the only rule or penalty I could find that would apply is 12-2-8, "Unnecessary Roughness" which mentions:

- "(b) tackling a runner when he is clearly out of bounds;" [although in this case the player is not a "runner"]

- Section (c) as quoted by ABoseli above

- and "(d) contacting a runner out of bounds..." [although again, in this case we're not dealing with a runner]

As much as I've looked, I could find no other references to players contacting each other out of bounds. Nor could I find any rules regarding how and when a player must return to the field when he goes out of bounds [if anyone has a reference for that I'd love to know it].

-Sean---