Steelers CB Cam Sutton returns from 8-game suspension hoping to find a role on elite defense

Published Nov. 4, 2024 3:53 p.m. ET

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cam Sutton doesn't believe he has to prove anything to anyone as the Pittsburgh Steelers veteran defensive back tries to hit the reset button on his career.

Sitting at his locker on Monday, his first full day back at work in two months after serving an eight-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy, the 29-year-old is more focused on trying to carve out a niche on a team that did just fine without him.

The Steelers enter the second half of the season atop the AFC North at 6-2, with undrafted rookie free agent Beanie Bishop and his three interceptions doing just fine while taking some of the snaps Sutton's absence created.

Sutton hasn't been invisible during the suspension — he said he's been able to sit in on some meetings, for example — but now finds himself, as coach Mike Tomlin likes to put it frequently, trying to hop on a moving train.

“I’ve been working and doing everything I need to do to stay ready,” Sutton said.

And move on from a difficult chapter in both his career and his life.

Sutton spent the first six seasons of his career in Pittsburgh creating a role that relied heavily on his versatility before signing a $33 million deal with Detroit in the spring of 2023. He lasted just one year with the Lions, who released him in March after a warrant was issued for Sutton's arrest in Florida stemming from a domestic incident.

The case ended with Sutton entering a pretrial diversion program in April after the charges were reduced from a felony to misdemeanor battery. His agreement with prosecutors required Sutton to take a mental health evaluation.

The Steelers took a flyer on Sutton, bringing him back on a one-year contract in June well aware that he still faced potential discipline from the league. He filled in at a variety of positions during training camp before serving his suspension.

Sutton is eager to do whatever is asked on a defense ranked second in the NFL in points allowed, fourth in takeaways and ninth in yards.

“I play football man,” he said. “I don’t care what position it is. I could be on offensive line, I really don’t care.”

Pittsburgh is relatively set at cornerback, where Joey Porter Jr. has spent his second season showing signs of becoming one of the elite players at the position and Donte Jackson has already picked off three passes.

Sutton figures to fit more into the nickel position he thrived at during his first stint with the team, though Bishop, an undrafted rookie free agent out of West Virginia, has more than held his own.

“He’s just really enjoying ball right now,” Sutton said of Bishop. “Just taking every day one day at a time and good things are happening for him."

Linebacker Patrick Queen doesn't see Sutton's return as a threat to Bishop's playing time, but a chance for one of the league's best defenses to get even better.

“(He's) a physical cat, a guy who can cover,” Queen said. "Just the utmost confidence that he’s going to communicate real well.”

The defense Sutton returned to doesn't look much different than the one he left after 2022. Minkah Fitzpatrick is still quarterbacking the defense from his safety spot. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are still one of the best edge rush tandems in the league. Cam Heyward is still a problem for opponents at defensive tackle.

If anything, the Steelers have only evolved on that side of the ball, mixing it up with different substitution packages that can create matchup issues.

“We’re doing a great job of just giving teams different looks, getting after quarterbacks how we should and obviously winning the field position game, getting off the field and causing turnovers and getting the ball back for our offense,” Sutton said.

Sutton has been impressed by what he's seen on film. He's eager to have his viewpoint return to the one he's accustomed to when Pittsburgh visits surprise NFC East leader Washington on Sunday.

'I love our group," Sutton said. "I love the continuity of our guys. I’ve spent a lot of time with our guys, a group that’s just hungry, loves playing together with each other and just excited to be around back with the guys.”

Sutton didn't offer much of a glimpse into his evolution off the field, saying only he knows what he has to do for “the bigger picture.”

The smaller picture will come into focus next weekend when Sutton's No. 20 could run back onto the field in a game that counts for the first time in 10 months.

“It’s difficult being out, not doing what you love to do,” he said. "(But) I’m ready to roll. Whatever it is, whatever (they ask of me), I'm ready to roll.”

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