Player: CB Cameron Sutton
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: If Cameron Sutton hoped to revive his career with the Steelers, the Ravens dashed his hopes on Saturday. Along with his face, courtesy of one particularly stiff stiff-arm. After an arrest stemming from some horrendous charges lost him his prized job in free agency, he returned to Pittsburgh. While his playing time increased during the year, the quality of his performance did not. He ended the season on a particularly low note, and not just because of one embarrassing play.
Cameron Sutton, over the course of his Steelers career, developed into a good player. He did well enough to earn a lucrative contract in free agency, which he cost himself off the field. Returning to the Steelers following an arrest, he hoped to regain his footing. But one can argue that he looks even more unemployable than ever after how the 2024 season went.
Sutton began the season starting an eight-game suspension, the NFL finding the evidence credible of him severely beating his partner. He ultimately played in nine games, logging 256 snaps, seeing increased playing time. But with the more snaps he played, the more outmatched he seemed to be. While it’s difficult to ascertain, he also seemed to have some communication issues. It’s not a shock that the defense’s worst issues coincided with him playing more.
The Steelers’ Wild Card loss did not see Cameron Sutton exit on a high note, either. While he didn’t have a good time overall, Steelers fans will remember him for Isaiah Likely using his head as a basketball, dribbling him off the field.
The Steelers made the sales pitch after signing Sutton that they “know” him, having worked with him for six year. Well, people can change a lot in a year. Since leaving the Steelers, he became an accused domestic abuser, leading to his arrest. And he also seemed to lose his footing on the field. How much of that was because of the half a season he lost to suspension? And how much of it is just him not being very good? Either way, don’t expect him back in 2025. To re-sign him now would be even worse than bringing him back in the first place, because he can’t play.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
