Auburn coach Gus Malzahn is tired of seeing Cam Newton get hit so much. Malzahn argued Thursday that the former Auburn quarterback doesn’t receive as much protection as other quarterbacks in the NFL.
“With all the referees in the NFL, and all that, they need to protect him like they do the rest of the quarterbacks,” Malzahn said Thursday at SEC Media Days.
Newton publicly complained last year about the lack of penalties he gets for being hit illegally. The Panthers quarterback spoke to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in November about the late hits.
Newton was sacked 36 times and hit a total of 93 times last season. That doesn’t count the hits he took on 90 rushing attempts.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera said earlier this week on Sirius XM that the draft additions of Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel should help Newton get the ball out quicker.