A main priority this off-season for Pittsburgh Steelers general manager, Omar Khan, will be the cornerback position. Cam Sutton sits atop that list, as he's a pending free agent. The Steelers' cornerback room dealt with injuries all season long in 2022, but Sutton was the one constant. He performed quite well, and a possible departure would be detrimental to the CB room.
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Immediately following the conclusion of the 2022-23 NFL campaign, ESPN dropped an article previewing the upcoming off-season. That came with several predictions and in-depth looks at what each team has to focus on to get better. For the Steelers, journalist Field Yates thinks Sutton is too important to let go of, as he projects they will indeed re-sign him. This is what he had to say on the cornerback:
"Sutton continues to improve and is among the top cornerbacks set to hit the market. He'll earn a decided raise from his $4.5 million average annual value deal that is currently playing on, but Pittsburgh has the resources to ensure Sutton sticks around at a position where it needs plenty of depth," Yates said.
There's no doubt that Khan should and will try to bring Sutton back. The veteran cornerback seems like he wants to return as well, but as we know, things happen when money begins to flow. Spotrac currently projects Sutton's annual market value to be around $7.6 million. With that, they project Sutton to get a three-year, $23 million deal this off-season. That would mean Sutton would essentially get an annual raise of just over $3 million. With his career-high three interceptions and 15 pass deflections in 2022, he may want a little bit more money than that.
Photo Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers CB Cam Sutton was one of the best at his position in 2022
Those 15 pass deflections is past season were in fact tied-for-sixth amongst NFL defenders. It'll be interesting to see how Khan does business in his first full off-season as the team's general manager. He took over for Kevin Colbert after the 2022 NFL Draft last year and proved to be quite aggressive in free agency. For Steelers fans, that's not something we're accustomed to. Recently, Art Rooney II already talked about how he's seeing how differently Khan and Andy Weidl are running things in this year's draft preparation.
After being selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, it took Sutton awhile to get going in Pittsburgh. He didn't really see extensive playing time until his fourth season in the league in 2020, when he started six games. Now, the six-year cornerback has been the team's best option for the past two years now. It will all come down to the money side of things and how much Khan will be willing to give Sutton.
If you were Khan, what is the most that you would pay Sutton to keep him? If the Steelers lose their top CB, should they replace him in free agency or the draft? What do you think will end up happening? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!
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