The Pittsburgh Steelers met with former cornerback Cam Sutton in Pittsburgh last week, according to a report by Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Sutton reportedly met with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan, presumptively about a potential return to Pittsburgh.
The 29-year-old cornerback was released by the Detroit Lions amid a lengthy police manhunt after he was charged with domestic assault. The Hillsborough County (Fla.) Sheriff’s department announced on March 20 that they were searching for Sutton. The Lions released him the next day. Sutton turned himself in on March 31.
Sutton was wanted on a charge of domestic battery by strangulation, defined in the Florida statutes as when a person “knowingly and intentionally, against the will of another, impedes the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of a family or household member or of a person with whom he or she is in a dating relationship, so as to create a risk of or cause great bodily harm by applying pressure on the throat or neck of the other person or by blocking the nose or mouth of the other person.” It is a third-degree felony.
After a preliminary hearing, Sutton was released on his own recognizance — meaning without bond — and the charges were reduced to one misdemeanor count of domestic battery.
When the Lions released Sutton, they voided the remaining two seasons of his three-year, $33 million contract and he became a free agent eligible to sign with any team.
Sutton will likely face NFL discipline regardless of the result of the legal process. NFL policies do not require someone to be legally found guilty in order for the league’s discipline process to kick in, and the NFL will investigate Sutton concurrently with the courts. If Sutton is found guilty of domestic battery, he likely faces at least a six-game suspension, without pay.
So, with all of that in mind, are they interested in Sutton? General manager Omar Khan spoke about that on Wednesday.
“You know, we’ll see,” Khan said on WDVE Morning Show. “We did meet with Cam, I think it was a couple weeks ago. It was more than just about the situation here, we just wanna see how he was doing. We spent six years with Cam, and they were a good six years with Cam. It was a good experience, and obviously, he had an opportunity to go to Detroit – had to make a business decision, but we’ll see. I will say this, I do like the depth we have at the position. You know, there’s some young guys in there that are gonna compete and have a lot of traits to be really good nickel corners, and I really like that group. … We’ll see what the future holds.”
The Steelers could be looking to bring Sutton back into the fold after releasing veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson this offseason. They have a need for a slot cornerback that has gone unresolved by the conclusion of the 2024 NFL Draft, meaning the team will look for outside help.