The Internet Wanted Cam Newton In Concussion Protocol, But The Right Call Was Made

Cam Newton did two things in Thursday’s NFL season opener: get beaten up by the Denver Broncos and set NFL records. Beyond breaking multiple NFL marks, Newton was hurried, took hits behind the line, and took multiple shots to the head. The worst offense courtesy of Denver’s Darien Stewart.

The league’s concussion protocol dictates that any player showing signs of a head injury need to be evaluated by medical staff before re-entering the game, but in this instance, Newton avoided being evaluated. In Fact, the helmet-to-helmet hit was negated by an intentional grounding call, which means Cam took this nasty blow for essentially “nothing.”

Here’s another angle of the brutal hit:

https://twitter.com/_MarcusD2_/status/774091572639965185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

After seeing such a nasty hit, the internet was up in arms.

https://twitter.com/DanOBrienPoker/status/774091815947341827

https://twitter.com/fivefifths/status/774094003415289856?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Enews%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

https://twitter.com/floresjrjohnny/status/774098225175273472

https://twitter.com/lantarisesup/status/774096568387407878

Here’s the truth about the situation, though — the officials made the right call. Cam was down after taking a big hit, but he wasn’t showing “noticeable signs of disorientation,” which is what the independent medical staff is looking for. If Newton isn’t noticeably hurt or intentionally avoiding the independent medical staff in order to hide an injury, he’s not coming out. And the Panthers weren’t about to yank him in the middle of a crucial end-of-game drive that Newton himself didn’t want to leave behind.

In this instance, Cam Newton, the Panthers and the independent spotters all made the call to leave the star QB in the game. This was confirmed after the game by Cam himself:

“It’s not my job to question the officials,” Newton said after the game. “It wasn’t something that I know they did intentionally, but it’s not fun getting hit in the head.”

“I try to warn the refs every time I do get hit in the head,” Newton said. “But if the flag is not [thrown], then it’s OK.” (Via CBS)

Yes, Cam was getting beat up all night, with an earlier helmet to helmet that was far more accidental than the Darien Stewart hit above, but a fine will probably come down from the league office for that one. This also brings up the question of, “what were the refs looking at?” They missed multiple helmet-to-helmet hits.

Hopefully, the league office looks at the ref’s mistakes, but regarding concussion protocol, it looks like they got it right. Now, if Cam does end up with concussion-like symptoms, then the entire system needs to be re-examined.