When Is a Scrimmage Kick Legal in the NFL?

Sep 17

2 min read

Updated: Oct 10

A legal NFL scrimmage kick is a punt, drop kick or place kick made on or behind the line of scrimmage after a snap. It need not happen on fourth down or from an obvious kicking formation.

Part of Football 101. Explore the guide to choose your next topic.

Arizona Cardinals punter Drew Butler kicks an NFL football during a 2014 game against the San Diego Chargers. — Drew Butler punts during an NFL game on September 8, 2014.

Photo: Greg Buch/FFSwami.com, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

For an illegal kick beyond the line, both the ball and the kicker's entire body must be beyond the line when he kicks. A foot or shoulder crossing alone does not establish that foul.

Keep the original line in view

The line of scrimmage remains the reference even on a broken play. Officials compare the kicker and ball with that plane at foot contact, not with the spot where the punter originally stood.

A kick from beyond the line carries five yards from the kick spot and loss of down. On fourth down, losing the down can end the possession.

Can a player kick twice?

A second scrimmage kick from behind the line is legal only if the ball has not crossed the line after the first kick.

For example, a punt is blocked immediately, remains behind the line and is recovered by the punter, who punts again from behind it. The second kick can be legal.

If the first kick crossed the line and then bounced back, recovering behind the line does not reset the restriction. A second kick in that situation carries five yards from the previous spot and loss of down.

That is different from deliberately kicking a loose ball along the ground. A legal scrimmage kick and an illegal kick of a loose ball are separate rule categories.

Recovery does not answer every question

The punting team may sometimes recover and advance behind the line, but its next action must independently be legal. Recovery does not grant unrestricted permission to pass or kick again.

Watch the original line, whether the first kick crossed it and the position of the second kick. Those facts explain the rare double kick without relying on how unusual the play looks.