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Cameron Amir Sutton (born February 27, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee, and was drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Early years
Sutton attended Jonesboro High School in Jonesboro, Georgia. He played cornerback and wide receiver for the Cardinal football team, and he had 1,396 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. He also played baseball and basketball in high school. Sutton was rated by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit. He committed to the University of Tennessee to play college football under head coach Butch Jones.
College career
Sutton started in all 12 games as a true freshman in 2013 and recorded 39 tackles, two interceptions, one sack, and a touchdown. He started all 13 games in the 2014 season, recording 37 tackles and three interceptions.
Professional career
Sutton received an invitation to the Senior Bowl and raised his draft stock after impressing scouts during practice and showing versatility and willingness for playing both safety and cornerback during the game. He helped the South secure a 16-15 victory over the North and led the team with four combined tackles. He attended the NFL Combine and completed nearly all of the combine drills, but opted to not perform the short shuttle. Sutton also participated at Tennessee's Pro Day and chose to run the short shuttle, three-cone drill, and perform positional drills for representatives and scouts in attendance. The majority of NFL draft experts and analysts projected Sutton to be drafted in the third round. He was ranked the 15th best cornerback in the draft by ESPN and NFLDraftScout.com.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 ⁄4 in (1.81 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | 30 in (0.76 m) | 8 ⁄4 in (0.21 m) | 4.52 s | 1.57 s | 2.62 s | 4.23 s | 6.81 s | 34 in (0.86 m) | 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) | 11 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Sutton in the third round (94th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers also drafted his teammate at Tennessee and the Senior Bowl, quarterback Joshua Dobbs.
2017
On June 13, 2017, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Sutton to a four-year, $3.21 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $736,128.
He entered training camp competing with William Gay, Coty Sensabaugh, and Mike Hilton for the backup cornerback position. On September 4, 2017, the Steelers placed Sutton on injured reserve after aggravating a hamstring injury during the Steelers' final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.
Although Sutton wore jersey No. 20 throughout the preseason, he sold it to Robert Golden after newly acquired free agent Joe Haden bought Golden's No. 21 from him. Sutton opted to wear No. 34 for his rookie season.
On October 31, Sutton returned to practice for the first time since his injury. The Steelers had 21 days to decide whether to activate Sutton or keep him on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season. On November 21, 2017, the Pittsburgh Steelers activated Sutton off injured reserve. On December 4, 2017, Sutton made his professional regular season debut after he replaced Coty Sensabaugh at left cornerback in the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals. Sensabaugh was pulled after Bengals' receiver A. J. Green had seven catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Sutton held Green to no catches and deflected a pass to help the Steelers overcome a 17-point deficit and defeat the Bengals 23-20. In Week 14, Sutton recorded two solo tackles in a 39-38 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. On December 17, 2017, he earned his first career start in place of Joe Haden, who was still recovering from a fractured fibula he had sustained in Week 10. In his first start, Sutton recorded a season-high three combined tackles in a 27-24 loss to the New England Patriots. Haden returned the following week and Sutton reverted to a reserve role for the last two games of the regular season. He finished his rookie season with five combined tackles (four solo) and a pass deflection in five games and one start.
2018
During the Week 1 opener at division rival, Cleveland. Sutton intercepted a pass off Tyrod Taylor. It was Sutton's first career interception, and would be his last of the season. In Week 5, against Atlanta, Sutton would have a season high 5-tackle performance in the Steelers 41-17 blowout. A week later against Cincinnati, he would repeat his efforts with another 5-tackle game and 1-pass deflection in the Steelers 28-21 win. Sutton's snaps would be diminished until Week 13 in a 17-10 win against the would be Super Bowl Champion, New England Patriots.
2019
Sutton's season started very quietly during the Steelers slide to 1-4. During the Week 6 prime-time game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sutton Intercepted a pass off Philip Rivers for 26-yards. He would finish the night with 1-INT, 3-passes defensed, and 1-tackle, his best performance of the year. In Week 10 during the Steelers ugly 21-7 loss against Cleveland, Sutton would return his first punt of the season for 8-yards. The Steelers would finish the season 8-8, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.