Steelers should entertain offers for Cameron Sutton
Cameron Sutton certainly doesn’t have character concerns. He’s the type of player you like to surround your teammates with. Unfortunately, he has not been worth the money he has earned.
Despite grading out as one of the worst cornerbacks in football this year, according to Pro Football Focus, Sutton is set to have a cap hit of $5.2 million next season. This is far too much for a defensive back playing at such a low level right now. If the Steelers were to trade Sutton they could save roughly half of this and the team acquiring him would only pay the base salary of $4.5 million next year.
In addition to being picked on by bigger and more athletically gifted receivers this year, Sutton has an incredibly small big-play rate and rarely comes up with interceptions (he has just one over the past season-and-a-half).
I really like Cam Sutton, the individual, but he’s just not worth the contract he currently has, and that’s far too much money to pay a backup if the Steelers find someone to take his place next year. Still, in his prime and with ample experience, Pittsburgh could turn Sutton into a respectable day-three draft choice and save money next year if they were willing to part ways with him.
For what it’s worth, I would be a bit surprised if any of these players were traded in 2022. However, it probably wouldn’t hurt Pittsburgh to take a proactive approach, assuming these three players aren’t going to be part of the long-term plan.