Steelers' Have Opened Contract Negotiations With Free Agent Cornerback Cam Sutton

The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to secure one of their top free agents according to general manager Omar Khan. Khan speaking today at the NFL combine was asked about cornerback Cam Sutton's pending free agency and he said he felt 'good' about where the two sides were in their negotiations. 

“We think very highly of Cam," Khan said. "Conversations have commenced. We’ll see where it goes.”

Last offseason the Steelers went out and signed free agent cornerback Levi Wallace, and brought back Ahkello Witherspoon to bolster the depth on a depleted position. While Wallace quietly put together a solid season after a questionable start, Witherspoon spent most of the season injured. Some believe that Witherspoon could soon become a salary cap casualty to help make way for Sutton and other free agents. The Steelers could save 4 million if they release him. 

Sutton, 28, has been able to make the transition from an inside corner to an outside corner with ease. Sutton spent most of his rookie contract bouncing between the outside and inside most notably replacing Mike Hilton in the slot when Hilton was unable to play. Last season Sutton started 16 games for Pittsburgh and recorded 15 pass break ups, and three interceptions. 

Earlier this offseason Steelers President Art Rooney II expressed a lot of interest in bringing Sutton back. 

“We like to bring guys back if we can. We’ve spent time with those guys, particularly Cam Sutton," Rooney said. "You know we drafted Cam and he’s developed as a Steeler, and I think he truly wants to come back. So, it’s great to be able to get those kind of guys back and obviously depends a little bit on what the market says and what opportunities he might have, and how we make all these things fit within our salary cap constraints. But clearly, there’s some guys that are veteran guys that we’d like to bring back."

Last week Sutton had his contract void which was a consequence left over from the 2020 offseason. With the salary cap decreasing because of COVID-19 the Steelers were forced to add extra void years to many contracts. Those void years helped kick the can down the road in terms of salary. Because of that the Steelers will be strapped with a dead cap hit of 2.1 million for Sutton.

Steelers Running Out Of Time

Pittsburgh doesn't have a lot of time left to strike a deal with Sutton. The tampering period for NFL free agents will begin on March 13, with the new league year kicking off on March 15. That gives Pittsburgh a little under two weeks to clear cap space and get Sutton signed before another team can speak to Sutton. The cornerback market isn't exactly mind blowing this offseason, so it would be wise if the Steelers are able to keep Sutton away from the open market and not chance a bidding war. Should Pittsburgh get into a bidding war it's unlikely they'll be able to retain him. 

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