Steelers CB Cameron Sutton suspended for eight games

The NFL investigation into Cameron Sutton has been finalized and resulted in a suspension. The Steelers cornerback was suspended for eight games for violating the league’s rules of conduct, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He will not appeal the suspension, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

An arrest warrant was issued against Sutton in March for domestic violence by strangulation. The 29-year-old was a member of the Lions at the time and played in Detroit on a contract worth $11 million a year through 2023. The Lions released him a day after news of the arrest warrant became known.

More than three weeks after the warrant was issued (long before it became public knowledge), Sutton turned himself in to police. The Lions advised him to do so, and he has since seen his assault charge settled by participating in a pre-trial diversion program. However, as past disciplinary decisions have shown, players do not have to be convicted of a crime to be disciplined under the NFL’s rules of conduct.

Shortly before the draft, Sutton visited the Steelers, the team he spent the first six years of his career with, as a free agent. There were no further developments on that front for several weeks until the parties agreed to a one-year deal in June. Sutton would have earned the veteran’s minimum in his Pittsburgh contract, so his suspension without pay for the first eight weeks of the season will significantly reduce his earnings.

Sutton, a third-round pick in 2017, started just twice in his first three seasons in the league. Since then, however, the former Tennessee player has been a mainstay on his teams’ defense, playing over 1,000 snaps in 2021 and doing the same during his only season with the Lions last season. That experience will give Pittsburgh a starting option in the secondary in the second half of the year.

The Steelers have Joey Porter Jr. be used as a perimeter starter, and the same probably applies to acquiring trades Donte Jackson. Sutton has played primarily on the boundary during his career, but has experience in the slot and could return there when he returns to Pittsburgh’s lineup after serving his suspension. Adding depth could be on the team’s radar this summer, knowing they will be shorthanded in the secondary.

The Steelers’ bye week falls in Week 9, meaning the earliest Sutton could make his debut is during his team’s Week 10 game against the Commanders.