Rules, Key Dates for Steelers CB Cam Sutton’s 8-Game Suspension
The rules and key dates for the eight-game suspension levied against Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton will serve an eight-game suspension from the National Football League for his domestic violence arrest earlier this offseason, the league announced on Monday.
Sutton will miss the first eight games of the 2024 season, but the way NFL suspensions work, it isn’t quite that simple. He doesn’t just get suspended from the team now and get to come back for his first game after Week 8.
Here are the key dates and rules that Sutton and the Steelers must follow for serving his suspension.
Aug. 27, 4 p.m.
Sutton’s suspension begins. That means that he is eligible to be a full part of the team practices during training camp, and is eligible to play in all three of the team’s preseason games.
When the Steelers trim their roster from 90 players to 53 on this date, they’ll be able to move Sutton to the suspended list, so he will not occupy a roster spot while he’s suspended.
From this date and time until the next phase of his suspension, Sutton is not allowed inside the team facility at all and is also not permitted to have any contact with team personnel. Throughout his suspension, Sutton cannot attend any of the Steelers games.
Sept. 30
After serving half of his eight-week suspension, Sutton will be allowed to return to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, but only in a limited capacity.
Starting with the day after the Steelers’ Week 4 game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 29, Sutton will be permitted to attend team meetings, work out using the team facility, make use of the team treatment and mental health facilities, and eat in the team cafeteria, but he still will not be able to practice with the club.
Oct. 14
Two weeks before his reinstatement, Sutton is eligible to return to the practice field, beginning with the day after the club’s Week 6 game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 13.
The Steelers don’t usually practice on Mondays or Tuesdays, so Sutton’s first full-squad practice with the team after his suspension will likely come on Oct. 16.
Oct. 29
The day after the Steelers’ Week 8 home game against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, Sutton is eligible to be promoted from the suspended list and returned to the team’s 53-man roster. The club will have to open a roster spot to return Sutton from the suspended list.
Of course, as luck would have it, the Steelers are entering their bye week that week, so they won’t be able to use Sutton in a game until Nov. 10 at the Washington Commanders.
At this point, Sutton will again start to receive paychecks, and his salary will start to count against the team’s salary cap obligations for 2024. Sutton is now expected to earn $547,222 of his veteran-minimum $1.2 million salary for the season.
Thanks to the Steelers’ oddly backloaded 2024 schedule, Sutton will not miss a game against an AFC North opponent, and will miss just one contest against a 2023 playoff squad of the seven on the Steelers schedule.
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