CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- If the NFL needs a name for the recently adopted rule that will result in a 15-yard penalty and potential ejection of a player who lowers his helmet to initiate contact with an opponent, here’s a suggestion:

The Cam Newton Rule.

Not that the Carolina Panthers quarterback will get any special advantage, but he could benefit more than any player at his position, simply because of how much he runs.

Newton has been contacted while running, throwing or getting sacked 1,094 times since he was selected with the first overall pick in 2011. Seattle's Russell Wilson is a distant second among quarterbacks with 747 during that span.

The rule should at least curtail the need for Newton to say, "I don't feel safe," as he did during the 2016 season, when he was the victim of an unusually high number of hits to the helmet that weren’t penalized.

Jim Daopoulos, who spent 11 years as an NFL official, 12 years as an NFL supervisor of officials and now is a rules analyst for ESPN, said the hits that prompted Newton to have a talk with commissioner Roger Goodell two years ago should decrease in frequency under the new rule.

"It will benefit a lot of players," Daopoulos said. "It's a great rule and the league is doing exactly what it needs to do to stop these head injuries. It's going to be a whole different mentality."

The rule also could impact Newton negatively if he lowers his head on a run. That probably won't happen on an open-field run. After reviewing more than 40 of Newton's big runs over the past few years, not once did he lower his head to the point it could be interpreted as a violation under the new rule.

Most of the time he either slid, went airborne over the pile, dove for the pylon or was chased down from behind.

Quarterback sneaks are the only time Newton typically initiates contact with his helmet. That could be an issue.

"I would think it would not be, but I've heard it is under that rule," Daopoulos said. "If he initiates contact, are we going to eject that player from the game? Wow! That's going to be something very difficult for an official. I hope they adjust this. I hope they make concessions with interior line action.

"Listening to [NFL competition committee chairman] Rich McKay, it seems like it was cut and dry. If you lead with the front of the helmet, you're going to be facing penalty and possible ejection."

Goodell said a week ago at the annual owners meeting in Orlando, Florida, after the rule was passed that it is "all hands on deck" to reduce brain, neck and spinal injuries.

"Our focus is on how to take the head out of the game and make sure we're using the helmet as protection, and [that] it's not being used as a weapon," Goodell said. "And I think we've made a tremendous amount of progress on that this week."

The competition committee is working to determine exactly what hits justify an ejection and whether they will be subject to replay review.

It is Daopoulos' opinion that replay has to be a part of the equation just as it is in college football under the rule of targeting a defenseless player.

The NFL's rule is different in that an offensive or defensive player can be penalized or ejected for initiating contact with the helmet.

"You take a player like Cam Newton, who basically is a runner," Daopoulos said. "He'll probably initiate some blows and take some. Players are going to have to learn to tackle differently. Runners are going to have to move forward without leading with their heads."

Carolina coach Ron Rivera likes the rule, regardless of whether it benefits Newton.

"It's going to benefit the league more than anything else," he said. "The rule is being put in place for player safety."

Newton said he didn't feel safe in 2016 when he suffered helmet-to-helmet hits that weren't called in at least four different games. Rivera said at the time Newton didn't get the benefit of the doubt with officials because of his size (6-foot-5, 245 pounds).

"He's a bigger guy for that position, as opposed to some of the smaller guys," Rivera said. "When they get hit, they roll around to the ground. When he gets hit, he absorbs them and it doesn't look as bad."

Many of those hits came on runs out of the read-option. Newton has been contacted on designed runs 494 times since 2011, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The next-highest total is Wilson with 149.

Where the new rule could help in particular is on runs outside the pocket. Under the previous rule, the quarterback became a runner once he left the pocket, so hits to the helmet were viewed differently because the quarterback was no longer considered a defenseless player.

"This opens up a whole new scenario now," Daopoulos said. "Whether it's Cam Newton or whether it's a running back, that helmet contact outside the pocket, inside the pocket, is a penalty."

Only one of the three hits to the helmet Newton took in the 2016 opener at Denver was penalized. That came when Darian Stewart launched himself helmet-first at the quarterback.

Brandon Marshall was not penalized for a similar hit in which he launched himself.

Both were fined heavily a few days later. But under the new rule, both would have been subject to ejection, and in Daopoulos opinion, Stewart's hit would've be a strong candidate.

Late in the 2016 season, Washington's Trent Murphy was not penalized for launching himself helmet-first at Newton, who was attempting to slide near the sideline. Newton was penalized for tossing the ball at Murphy after the play.

Those plays, Daopoulos said, provide another argument for using replay with the new rule, because they happen so fast and are subjective.

"It should have been a flag for the hit on Cam, and they missed it," he said of the Murphy hit. "That's one of the good things about college, if the officials miss it and it's targeting, the replay officials can call it. They may give the replay more of that ability to help out in the NFL."

Because the NFL traditionally resists ejection unless it's an egregious act since it could impact the level of competition, Daopoulos said the entire mindset of officials has to change.

"I kind of agree with the NFL, what they're trying to do," he said. "It's all about the protection. It's all about the head injuries, etc. I'm just concerned how the officials are going to officiate this. Who are they going to put the onus on?

"Now whether you're making a tackle, you can't lead with your helmet. It's going to be a very difficult call for officials to make."

Ultimately, however, it could benefit Newton more than others.