NFL ruling on blood
 

In the Tampa Bay/San Diego game that just finished, Jeff Garcia bloodied the bridge of his nose after a legal hit. It pretty much covered his face and should have been obvious to any official that looked at him.

In the NFL, are players not forced out of the game by officials due to blood? Is it the discretion of the referee? From what I can remember, it is mandatory for high school and collegiate players to be taken out of the game due to open wounds.

I know Garcia is an integral part of the TB offense that was driving, but shouldn't personal safety measures be taken to protect the other 21 players on the field?

You are assuming that this is easily seen. It is very possible that no one saw this at all. We often do not look that closely into the helmet of players that closely.

Secondly I am not sure what the rule is. And I think these are professionals and they do not have the same issues a high school or college player might have.

Peace

Jeff, if you saw the pictures it was easily seen. Blood was streaming down his face.

I saw the pictures and I am aware of the situation. But as an official I am not looking at the faces the same way I would do in other sports. It is one thing to see a close up on TV, it is quite another when you are on the field and bodies are all over the place with something covering their head and something in front of their face.

Peace

The NFL does not have a blood rule. You see players with blood all the time.
In my pre-game (semi-pro using NFL rules) I remind my crew the only blood rule is "don't let it get on you".

Yeah, if you guys remember John Ritchie who was a FB for the raiders in the late 90's early 2000's - about 4 plays into every game he would bleed from the bridge of his nose and blood would stream down his face... he never left the game.

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/writers/f...p1_ritchie.jpg