Steelers Walked Into The Cam Sutton Suspension Situation Completely Blind: ‘There Has Been No Decision’ Due To The….
The Pittsburgh Steelers shocked a lot of fans when they brought back Cam Sutton during the 2024 offseason. The organization chose not to re-sign him going into the 2023 season, and he wound up struggling at outside corner for the Detroit Lions. He got himself into legal trouble while with Detroit, which led to his release. Pittsburgh had a hole at slot corner, and they decided it was a good idea to bring Sutton back in on a contract worth the veteran minimum for the 2024 season.
The NFL is still investigating Sutton’s off-the-field issues, and it’s likely he finds himself being suspended for multiple games to begin the 2024 season. The length of the suspension is unclear, but if it is a substantial one, Pittsburgh would probably need to add another corner to the roster. Insider Mark Kaboly recently reported that it is likely Pittsburgh has some idea of what Sutton’s suspension will be, since Art Rooney II has been around a while and presumably has connections throughout the league office.
Bob Labriola completely contradicted that point, and said there is no way for the Steelers to know any details about the league’s investigation. He touched on this during hisAsked and Answeredsegment on the team’s website.
“I believe if the NFL had decided on a suspension and then a length of a suspension for any player, the league would announce the decision, rather than have it leak out, as it inevitably would. Since there has been no announcement means to me that there has been no decision, and therefore the Steelers couldn’t know anything in advance.”
Labriola makes a good point. With sensitive topics like legal matters concerning players, the league wants to be in full control when it comes to how news about the subject circulates. If a decision was made, it would be announced shortly after the fact. This likely means the Steelers have no clue how long they could be missing Sutton for, which could present an issue.
The issue with the organization not knowing how long Sutton could be suspended for is that they have very little experience behind him at the position. Aside from Sutton, the next viable option at slot corner is likely Beanie Bishop, who is an undrafted free agent. Bishop has impressed, but it’s not wise to rely on an undrafted player to contribute at such an important position on opening day.
The organization has made no moves to sign another corner since acquiring Sutton. If an announcement of his suspension is made in the middle of training camp, they will need to move quick to bring in outside help. Unless the team is truly comfortable with sending Bishop out there to start the season, a player needs to be brought in via free agency.
Sutton could be suspended for just one game, but it could be a lot more drastic. The last thing Pittsburgh needs is to be scrambling to find a slot corner after the regular season has already kicked off.
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Why Seahawks’ interior O-line is so crucial to success..
There might not be a bigger question mark for the Seattle Seahawks this season than their interior offensive line.
Ranking the Seahawks’ position groups: Who’s No. 1?
After losing left guard Damien Lewis and center Evan Brown in free agency and opting not to re-sign right guard Phil Haynes, Seattle will have new Week 1 starters at all three interior spots. And at all three of those positions, the potential starters are either inexperienced or coming off down years.
The interior offensive line, of course, is important for any team. But as former Seahawks offensive lineman Ray Roberts explained Monday on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, it might be even more crucial for the Hawks – and specifically for quarterback Geno Smith.
“When you set and make the pocket for the quarterback, the guards and the center set the depth of the pocket and the tackles set the width of the pocket,” Roberts said. “And Geno is more of a step-up-and-then-get-out type of quarterback than he is a sprint-do-a-360-spin like Russell (Wilson) and run to the outside and make plays. He’s more of a step up and then slide left or right and can scramble that way and make better plays.
“And so it’s important that those interior linemen are able to set the depth there and not have a whole lot of penetration in that space. And last year, there was a lot going on in there, so then he was having to escape a lot and throw on the run – when that’s probably not Geno’s game.”
At left guard, 10th-year veteran Laken Tomlinson is expected to take over. Tomlinson was a Pro Bowler with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, but struggled the past two seasons with the New York Jets.
Second-year pro Olu Oluwatimi, who played in just four games as a rookie last season, is the favorite to win the starting center job.
And at right guard, it’s shaping up to be a three-man battle between second-year Anthony Bradford, second-year McClendon Curtis and rookie third-round draft pick Christian Haynes. Bradford started 10 games last year, but neither Curtis or Haynes have played an offensive snap at the NFL level.
Last year, the Seahawks’ offensive line ranked No. 28 out of 32 teams in Pro Football Focus’ pass-block grading. The unit was decimated by a slew of injuries, which forced Seattle into 10 different starting O-line combinations over the course of the season. With a muddled pocked, Smith’s production declined. After finishing seventh in ESPN’s QBR metric during a breakout 2022 season, Smith was 14th in 2023.
This fall, the Seahawks’ new-look interior offensive line will be tasked with taking a step forward and giving Smith better protection.
“To me, that is where the question mark is with the offense,” Roberts said, “because as they go, I think Geno’s production goes.”
Listen to the full conversation with Ray Roberts at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.