Steelers leave out Cameron Sutton’s comments on his “message to fans” after off-field incident from video

Football teams are always looking for bargains. The Steelers found one in cornerback Cameron Sutton, even if they had to hold their nose a little given the player’s misconduct off the field.

The Steelers also apparently had to trim some footage at the end of Sutton’s media presence on Wednesday.

In summary, the authorities issue an arrest warrant for Sutton’s arrest on domestic violence charges in March 2024. He remained at large for more than three weeks.

The Lions released him on March 21although he started every game for Detroit in 2023. Team president Rod Wood later said that when the Lions learned of the outstanding warrant, Sutton was actually in the building.

Sutton turned himself in 10 days after his release. He was charged with assault. Later participated in a diversion program before the trialThe Steelers recently signed him; he spent six years in Pittsburgh before joining the Lions as a free agent in 2023.

Sutton met with reporters on Wednesday. At the end of the meeting, he was asked to explain his “message to the fans” in light of the off-field incident and its aftermath. Sutton began by offering a series of seemingly random clichés before saying, “I never worry about a narrative. I never worry about what people feel they have to say, because obviously, they most likely don’t know me any better than anyone else. You know what I mean? And again, it’s just about your foundation, your morals, who you are as a human being individually and what you stand for. I hold my head up high. Again, everyone experiences adversity, everyone experiences things in their life that can change either way. So it’s about how you stand by it and what you make of it. And like I said, I’m ready to keep moving in the right direction. Everything else will keep falling into place and we’ll just go from there.”

The Steelers released a Video of media sessions with receiver Van Jefferson, Sutton and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. However, Sutton’s segment was edited to omit the “message to the fans” question and his response. (The video includes an earlier comment that “[w]eather hits everybody in life, you know, so it’s how you deal with it, how you go through those phases necessarily and just knowing who you are individually and not letting somebody else dim your light.”)

The whole thing creates a rough impression on the Steelers. As can be seen from the Tampa Bay TimesThe Affidavit of probable cause stated this: “During the argument, Sutton picked up the woman, slammed her against a wall, and then bit her in the neck, leaving her with a bleeding abrasion the size of a quarter. … Sutton then grabbed the woman by the face and neck and choked her, causing her to briefly lose consciousness. … The argument continued in the living room of the house, where Sutton held the woman by her hair and struck her twice with his fist, causing a bump to form on the woman’s forehead.”

Participation in a diversion program may result in punishment under the Rules of Conduct, but if the victim does not cooperate with the NFL, it will be more difficult for the NFL to get a full picture of what did or did not happen.

Inevitably, Sutton will be forced to meet with NFL investigators and explain his actions. Then a penalty will be assessed. According to the rules of conduct, the first domestic violence offense “will result in a base suspension of six games without pay, with the suspension subject to adjustment up or down based on aggravating or mitigating circumstances.” One of the aggravating circumstances listed in the rules is “choking.” Another aggravating circumstance is “repeated hitting.” Another aggravating circumstance is “when the act is committed in the presence of a child.” (Sutton and the victim have three children; it’s unclear if any of them were present during the altercation.)

So if Sutton’s “message to fans” is that “every person goes through adversity,” he will ultimately face more adversity in the form of an unpaid suspension – a suspension that may extend beyond six games if the league determines that the facts in the probable cause affidavit are more likely than not to be true (and if it turns out that one or more children were present when the misconduct occurred).

The Steelers decided to ignore this and wait for him during a suspension because he is a good player. Of course, that didn’t stop the Lions from quickly cutting ties.