Why New Helmet-Lowering Rule Will Save Cam Newton's Career

In Carolina’s season-opening loss to the Denver Broncos in 2016, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was subjected to a barrage of blatant helmet-to-helmet hits, the majority of which were not penalized.

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All of the Head to Head hits on Cam Newton

The dynamic signal caller never fully recovered after that game and went on to have a lost season, completing a career-low 52.9% of his passes and leading the Panthers to a dismal 6-8 record.

Under the guidelines of the NFL’s new helmet-lowering rule, Newton – who has been hit while running, throwing or getting sacked 1,094 times since entering the NFL – will never take a beating like the one he did in 2016 again.

Where the rule change particularly benefits Newton is on designed runs and read-option plays that result in him carrying the ball outside of the pocket. Under the new rule, players lowering their head to tackle Newton, even after he is no longer considered a defenseless player due to running out of the pocket, will result be subject to a 15-yard penalty and possible ejection.

“This opens up a whole new scenario now,” said former NFL supervisor of officials and current ESPN rules analyst Jim Daopoulos. “Whether it’s Cam Newton or whether it’s a running back, that helmet contact outside the pocket, inside the pocket, is a penalty.”

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Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”