To make all parties happy, Pro Football Talk is reporting that the NFL is investigating whether the Baltimore Ravens got the proper notice of an ineligible player during the divisional round game against the New England Patriots.
It’s common for players with numbers that make them ineligible to report as eligible and then go down the field and become targets for passes. It’s less common for players with eligible numbers to report to officials as ineligible and then refrain from going down the field of play.
The play in question saw Patriots running back Shane Vereen, who was an otherwise eligible receiver, lined up as a split wide offensive lineman.
Per football rules, Vereen is responsible for letting the official know that he is in fact an neligible receiver, which he did. On the other side, tight end Michael Hoomanawanui was lined up tight on the line of scrimmage and he stayed an eligible receiver with an eligible number.
Hoomanawanui was not responsible for reporting his eligibility.