The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without veteran cornerback Cameron Sutton for the first eight games of the 2024 campaign. It’s official, there will be no appeal.
Now, the question becomes — how do the Steelers plan to replace him for nearly half the NFL season?
One relatively simple insurance policy would be a reunion with respected three-time All-Pro Patrick Peterson, who remains available on the free agent market. Of course, Peterson turns 34 on July 11, sparking conflicting opinions on the likelihood of his potential re-signing.
“I still think that I wouldn’t bet on that because if they would’ve preferred that option then why wouldn’t they have just done that instead of Sutton to begin with?” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Brian Batko voiced on The Joe Starkey Show on July 9. Lumping Chandon Sullivan in with Peterson.
“You wouldn’t even have had to deal with the bad look of signing him and the optics and the PR of it all,” he continued. “So that kind of makes me think that they actually prefer Sutton maybe as a player, or at least at the price point that they’re going to have him at, despite not having him now for the first eight games.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette colleague Ray Fittipaldo offered a different take on this matter during an interview with The Morning Show on 93.7 The Fan on July 10, however.
“Honestly guys, I think this brings the Patrick Peterson conversation back into play,” the Steelers insider noted. Reasoning that he believes Pittsburgh expected a shorter suspension for Sutton.
“Obviously, there’s going to be some adjustment there by the front office,” he said. Continuing later: “Patrick Peterson is sitting out there, you could probably get him on the cheap. So, I don’t think that move is going to be made before camp, but I do think if they don’t like any of [their younger candidates] early in camp I think that’s a move you could see be made [in] mid-August or something like that.”
Steelers Training Camp Should Reveal if Patrick Peterson Signing Is Necessary
In the case of bringing in Peterson — or another veteran like Sullivan — training camp should determine the end result.
As Fittipaldo stated, younger guys will likely get the opportunity to win the job early in camp. But if head coach Mike Tomlin and his staff do not like what they see, the long-time NFL mind won’t hesitate in circling back to a trusted defensive back like Peterson.
Batko called this a “prime opportunity” for undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop during his radio appearance.
“Initially, I thought he was probably the undrafted guy with the best chance of making the 53 [man roster] because he was pretty productive in the Big 12 for the Mountaineers,” he argued, adding that Bishop’s age as a 24-year-old prospect could help him make a quicker NFL adjustment.
Fittipaldo, on the other hand, was more concerned about the lack of experience behind starters Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson.
“[Josiah] Scott has the most experience of any of those [backups] but it’s not a lot and it’s actually from a few years ago,” he said, including Grayland Arnold in the conversation alongside Bishop and Scott.
Fittipaldo also reminded that Bishop has spent no time on an NFL practice squad, as Mike Hilton did before his rise to prominence in Pittsburgh. “Even guys like that need a little bit of time to acclimate to the NFL,” he explained.
Steelers Safeties DeShon Elliott & Damontae Kazee Could Chip in at Nickel
Steelers writer James Wexell suggested that he expects new safety DeShon Elliott to play some “big nickel” with Sutton suspended.
“The Steelers knew they would lose Cam Sutton for at least 6 games,” he posted on July 9. “SS Deshon Elliott will play a big part in replacing him.”
On that note, Fittipaldo agreed that Pittsburgh has “versatile” safeties on the roster between Damontae Kazee and Elliott.
“They will have options there,” the reporter acknowledged. Setting up an intriguing camp battle in the secondary as the summer progresses.
