Steelers' Marcus Gilbert Rips Cam Newton, Questions His Toughness

Cam Newton is getting a lot of attention for complaining about the hits he’s been taking. On Sunday the Carolina Panthers quarterback claimed football wasn’t as fun because of what he perceives are illegal hits against him going unpunished. Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Marcus Gilbert isn’t a fan of Newton’s complaining.

On Monday, Gilbert ripped into Newton, claiming he didn’t understand the reigning MVP’s complaints about cheap shots. Gilbert also said his quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, gets hit far more than Newton and doesn’t whine about it.

Gilbert had the following to say:

"“Ben gets hit more than anybody in the league, and he never complains. C’mon, man. This is the game of football. If you’re out there and you’re scared to take a shot, then don’t be out there, especially if you’re a running quarterback. (Defenses) are going to take shots at you. Just the way, his style of playing football, how he celebrates, I guess he gives the guys a chip, like let’s go hit the reigning NFL MVP.”"

Gilbert and Newton were briefly teammates at Florida, and he praised Cam as a “great player” but also said he didn’t think opponents were intentionally trying to hurt him. That said, it’s clear Gilbert isn’t a fan of the complaining, especially given the way Newton plays and carries himself:

"“When he’s running over people, he’s going to stand right up and he’s going to celebrate. This is the game of football. I’m sure there are cornerbacks or linebackers, whoever he’s running over, the safeties, they aren’t complaining about getting run over or getting crowned, facemask to facemask with the quarterback from a guy his size. Of course, guys are going to take shots … I don’t think anybody is trying to purposefully hurt him, but you’re going to get those extra hits, especially against such a great player.”"

Newton has taken some really bad hits this year, but so have a lot of other quarterbacks. It’s his right to make a stink about it and call attention to bad or missed calls, but other guys have been impacted as well.

Gilbert also fired a parting shot at Newton’s toughness with this line:

"“I’m sure all the other 53 guys on that team are hurting just as bad and pretty much take a lot of shots, too. Look at the running backs, look at the receivers going across the middle, the linemen, you get rolled up on all the time. It’s just a football game, bro. You’ve got to embrace it, you’ve got to accept the challenge that’s ahead of you, you have to go out there and play ball.”"

Sadly, the Panthers and Steelers don’t play each other this season, so Gilbert and Newton may not meet face-to-face.