NFL reaction to Trevor Lawrence hit highlights hypocrisy of Cam Newton treatment

Former Panthers WR Torrey Smith called out the double standard around Cam Newton.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton yells \"I'm back!\" after scoring a rushing touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in a game in 2021. / Rob Schumacher / USA TODAY NETWORK

Right now, the NFL world is debating the hit on Trevor Lawrence, who was sliding when Azeez Al-Shair hit him in the head and gave him a concussion. The NFL ejected him and then suspended him for three games. Former NFL wide receiver Torrey Smith has seen all the dialogue and is unsure why this didn't happen with ex-Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton.

Torrey Smith goes to bat for Cam Newton amid Trevor Lawrence debate

The NFL's reaction to losing Trevor Lawrence to a concussion is very different from how it used to act with Cam Newton according to Torrey Smith. Smith played with the Panthers briefly, and he saw his quarterback take big, seemingly illegal hits like the one Lawrence took with no penalty. "Man Cam Newton got hit the same way as Trevor and no one was suspended," he said.

Newton, one of the most dominant dual-threat QBs in NFL history, was often running and took hits to the helmet while on the run. Sometimes he was sliding, other times he was going out of bounds, but he was often hit as hard as could be in dangerous areas.

The consensus around Newton was that he was a runner in that situation and that he was so big that the hits weren't that impactful. Of course, Lawrence was sliding, but the general feeling around a questionable hit on a QB now goes in favor of the player when it didn't with Newton.

Newton did outweigh a lot of the defenders hitting him, but hits to the helmet don't really need to come from someone huge to hurt. Newton suffered a couple of concussions throughout his career with the Panthers.

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