The Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing back veteran cornerback, Cameron Sutton. Sutton spent his first six seasons with the Steelers mostly playing nickel cornerback. The Steelers selected Sutton as the team’s third round pick in 2017. It would be until his fourth season when he would become a rotational starter in the Steelers’ secondary. Sutton would finally become a full-time starter when Mike Hitlon would leave in the 2021 free agency. In 2021, Sutton would start in all sixteen games and would record two interceptions. The following season was by far Sutton’s best year. Going into the final year of his contract, Sutton knew he had to show off his talent if he wanted to stay in the league. After having three interceptions and fifteen pass deflections, Sutton became a top name in the 2023 free agency.
Sutton would sign a massive three-year contract with the Detroit Lions. Despite starting in all seventeen games, Sutton’s production with the Lions was nothing but disappointing. While playing both outside and inside, Sutton thrived when playing in the slot with the Steelers. However, the Lions had him line up on the outside which affected his play. As many would later find out, Sutton’s play would be the least of everyone’s concerns. On March 7th, Florida police put out a warrant for Cameron Sutton’s arrest. Sutton was suspected of domestic assault. Due to all of this, The Lions would release Sutton. The former Steeler would later turn himself in after weeks of the warrant being public.
In early April, Sutton would enter a pretrial diversion program which would get his cases slimmed down to only a misdemeanor. With this act, Sutton was reported to have a meeting with the Steelers in late April. The Steelers were hesitant to sign Cameron Sutton due to the possibility of suspension by the NFL. However as of June 5th, it would be announced that the Steelers would sign the cornerback on a veteran-minimum deal. While the possibility of suspension is still looming, the Steelers signing him indicates that Sutton will face zero consequences.
With all this drama surrounding his name, why would the Steelers sign Sutton? After spending six seasons in Pittsburgh, Sutton is familiar with the defensive system, which many current Steeler defenders lack. With being 29-years old, Sutton will also be accounted as a leader and mentor in this secondary. Sutton could very well end up the starting nickel cornerback as his main competition is young cornerback, Darius Rush. With having more experience in the system and being much more proven in the league. Sutton has the starting edge over Rush going into 2024. The Steelers get a veteran who is a experienced starter for cheap. Excluding his offseason incidents, Sutton is a great pick up.