If the Pittsburgh Steelers were “counting the weeks” until Cameron Sutton returned from suspension, they’re probably wondering why. Even if he made one key pass breakup in his 2024 debut last Sunday, the veteran cornerback struggled. And the Steelers turned to James Pierre instead of him after Donte Jackson exited due to injury.
With Jackson’s status for Sunday not quite set in stone, the quality of Sutton’s play particularly matters at the moment. And Steelers DC Teryl Austin knows that he left something to be desired in his first game. While he expects better in the future, the reality is he has to prove it.
“I think it wasn’t probably as clean as he would like in terms of getting everything done”, Austin admitted about Sutton’s season debut, via transcript provided by the Steelers’ media relations department. “You get your first live action against a really good offensive team. But I thought, as the game wore on and the things we asked him to do, he was better.
“We put [Sutton] in some stressful situations, there’s no doubt. We did not put those guys in easy situations last week. We depended on our guys to do a lot of running, a lot of covering, and for the most part, they held up pretty well”.
Cameron Sutton played 19 defensive snaps in his first game with the Steelers since 2022. Officially, he did not record any stats, even on special teams, registering zero tackles. Pro Football Reference charges him with five targets during the game, allowing no receptions.
But that comes far from telling the real story. The Commanders had him beat dead to rights on multiple occasions and they simply failed to execute. One play that stood out was 2nd and 8 from Washington’s 3-yard line. Luke McCaffrey cleared Sutton and had a path to a 97-yard touchdown, but Jayden Daniels couldn’t connect. And the pass that he kinda-sorta broke up? Well, the receiver had already dropped it before he got there.
Of course, this was just one game, and Cameron Sutton should be rusty after not playing, or even practicing much. While he was allowed to return to the Steelers’ facility weeks ago, he wasn’t eligible to practice until after eight games.
If the Steelers put Sutton back on the field, they definitely need him to play better. They can’t count on the good fortune of opposing teams missing the throws he’s beat on. And they can make a greater effort to avoid putting him in situations that don’t play to his strengths, in the meantime.
Until Sutton proves he can handle it, I expect James Pierre to remain the top outside reserve, unless Cory Trice Jr. makes it all the way back this week. He started practicing now, so it shouldn’t be too long. The Steelers like him a fair bit, even if he has a slender resume.
