4 reasons Steelers must sign Sutton before anyone else

His value

While Sutton played extremely well this past season, he doesn’t have as much star power as some of the other names that were mentioned previously in this post have. This benefits him though, as with the Steelers likely being cap-strapped, he could be a more realistic target to be resigned. He won’t be cheap by any means, but in a market that may be slightly deflated due to the cap number likely not increasing, he has a real shot to be on the Steelers next year.

Spotrac has his projected value at 7.2 million per season, which seems right if the market was going to be at full strength. Meanwhile, PFF projected that the Steelers would resign him to a deal closer to 3 million per season. In the end, I think his market value is going to be right around 6 million per season. If the team spreads that out over a multi-year deal, his cap hit could be minimal for year one.

Say the Steelers sign Sutton to a four-year deal for 24 million dollars (6 million per year) with an 8 million dollar signing bonus. The Steelers could get his first-year cap hit to be right around 3 million total. That hit is minimal considering the value he brings to this team. Considering the Steelers could cut either of their starters on the outside as well as let Mike Hilton leave in free agency, having a versatile player like Sutton on a deal that gives him a light first-year cap hit would be huge. He could be penciled in as a replacement for an outside corner or be given the slot duty full-time next year.