Slotback

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Slotback (SB), also called slot receiver, is an offensive position gridiron football responsible for covering a ''slot,'' the playing area between the⁣⁣ offensive tackle and the wide receiver. A player who lines up between those two players and behind the line of scrimmage fills that "slot".

The slotback position is a fixture of Canadian football and indoor football where they act as extra receivers. It is also used in American football where the position requires a versatile player who must combine the receiving skills of a wide receiver and the ball-carrying skills of a running back.^[1] In the modern NFL, the slotback is often referred to as the "flex"^[2] position.

Slotbacks can line up as far as 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped. In both Canadian and indoor football, slotbacks can make a running start toward the line of scrimmage before the snap. In the NFL, this would be called illegal motion. However, other American football leagues, such as the World Football League and the XFL, have allowed forward motion.