Cam Newton struggled to make it to the Panthers' sideline after taking a hit from Saints defensive tackle David Onyemata with just under 10 minutes remaining in Sunday's playoff game. Newton dropped to his knees on the field before being evaluated in the medical tent.
The Panthers quickly announced he had been cleared of a concussion and he returned for the Panthers' next series.
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After the 31-26 loss, Newton and head coach Ron Rivera maintained the Panthers QB didn't suffer a head injury but rather he was poked in the eye.
"It wasn't my head, it was my eye," Newton told reporters after the game. "My helmet had came down low enough over my eye lid and got pressed by a player's stomach, I believe. I thought maybe somebody stuck a finger in my eye."
New NFL concussion protocol dictates players who show "gross motor instability or significant loss of balance" must now be evaluated in the locker room rather than on the sideline as long as those reactions don't appear to be the result of foot or leg issues. Under that definition Newton should have gone to the locker room but Rivera disagrees.
“He actually got poked in the eye,” coach Ron Rivera told reporters. “They took him in there as a precautionary [measure] just to make sure, but when he was sitting on the ground, they were trying to wipe whatever when he got popped. So that’s what that was.”
While the Panthers may have taken a extra step in insuring Newton didn't have a concussion when he was simply poked in the eye, the NFL could rule the team violated its new rule implemented last month.
“We are in contact now with the Panthers’ medical staff and we will not comment further until those conversations are completed,” the NFL said in a statement Sunday night.
Here is the play in question.
This "Cam Newton's visor poked him in the eye" is the greatest storyline in the history of sports. And I'm saying that as a former WWE wrestler. Watch the video, you don't collapse after that him because you need ice on your face. It's a #concussion. pic.twitter.com/fgsMiai3et
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) January 8, 2018