Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton entered into a pretrial diversion program, and he could be subject to a suspension under the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy in relation to domestic violence.
Charges were filed against Sutton for domestic violence in March before he turned himself in at the end of the month. Initially, felony charges were dropped to a misdemeanor. Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Charles Omenihu faced a similar situation last season and was suspended for six games.
Despite a suspension likely being handed out to Sutton by the league office, Steelers general manager Omar Khan has zero idea what’s going to happen. A looming lengthy suspension also did not play a factor into signing him, according to Khan.
“Zero idea at all, that comes from New York,” Khan said when asked during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan if he has an indication on potential discipline for Sutton. “You probably have to ask those guys in New York. We understand the situation, but that decision’s gonna come from New York.”
Khan might have just wanted to keep the matter private, but longtime Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly of The Athletic believes the team has an inkling of Sutton’s suspension length. He’s sure they’ve done a thorough investigation on the situation.
“I mean, you’d be shocked at the process they do go through with their own internal security people to be able to look beyond what you see on affidavits and police reports… We don’t know this right now, but I would assume that the Steelers have some connections in the league, you know? The owner’s been around for a while. I’m sure they get a little whisper in their ear on what the potential punishment would be, and if it’s for a heck of a lot of games or a season, obviously, I don’t think they would have signed him,” Kaboly said during a recent appearance on 93.7 The Fan.
Khan said they decided to re-sign Sutton because of their previous “positive” experiences with the cornerback. Mike Tomlin had a similar statement at minicamp on Tuesday.
“There are not any conversations that [Sutton and I] had recently. It’s the totality of our relationship. I met this guy in Knoxville man six, seven years ago, whatever it was, when he came out of school. He’s a great guy. He loves football. It’s probably the totality of our relationship and I probably represent the sentiment of the organization and saying that it’s less about specific conversations, particularly of late, and it’s about the relationship established over a longer period of time,” Tomlin said.
Nick Farabaugh contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.