The Pittsburgh Steelers already have one of the best defenses in the NFL as the season nears its halfway point, and they could be getting another key piece back in the lineup very soon. Cornerback Cameron Sutton, who has been serving an eight-game suspension, was reinstated on Tuesday, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
“Steelers CB Cameron Sutton had his 8 game suspension lifted and he has officially been reinstated,” Schultz reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Sutton was charged with domestic battery this offseason, leading to the suspension from the league for violating its personal conduct policy.
The Tennessee alum spent the first six seasons of his career in Pittsburgh before departing and playing the 2023 season with the Detroit Lions. He became a reliable option in the secondary during his time with the Steelers and has nine interceptions and 44 pass breakups in his career. In 2022, Sutton had the best season of his career with the Steelers, picking off three passes and finishing with 15 PBU's.
That performance led the Steelers to bring Sutton back on a one-year deal this offseason. He will slot into a secondary that currently features second-year player Joey Porter Jr. as its top corner, but Sutton should still be a big contributor when he gets back up to speed. He will have a few weeks to do so, as the Steelers have Week 9 off before returning to action On Nov. 10 against the Washington Commanders.
Steelers showing more explosiveness after quarterback change
Before the Steelers' Week 7 clash with the New York Jets, Mike Tomlin made the somewhat controversial decision to switch things up at quarterback. Even though Tomlin's team was sitting at 4-2, he still decided to bench Justin Fields in favor of Russell Wilson, who struggled with a calf injury early on in the season.
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The move has paid off so far, as Wilson is 2-0 as the starter and has the Steelers sitting at 6-2. He's not the runner that Fields is, but the Steelers' passing game has been so much more effective over the last two games. Wilson looks much more like the Seattle Seahawks version of himself as a passer than the Denver Broncos one, throwing for 542 yards with three touchdowns and no picks in the last two weeks.
His arm strength isn't quite what it used to be, but he's still got plenty of strength to lay the ball out down the field for George Pickens and the rest of the Steelers' wideouts to make plays on the ball. He's not turning the ball over very much and has only taken five sacks in the two games, so the negative plays that plagued him in Denver haven't popped up just yet.
The Steelers could look into whether it's worth having a short yardage package with Fields in the game due to his explosiveness and strength as a runner, which could help the team score more touchdowns in the red zone. However, as a whole, it's hard to deny that going to Wilson when Tomlin did was the right move.
