NFL's legal tampering period kicked off at noon on Monday, and the Steelers lost a key piece of their defense to free agency.
Cam Sutton has agreed to terms on a three-year, $33-million contract with the Lions, according to NFL Network. The contract comes with $22.5 million guaranteed.
Considering his six years of experience and versatility to play outside or in the slot, Sutton was bound to be a hot commodity and one of the most coveted cornerbacks in free agency. The contract from Detroit shows just how much a team was willing to pay for what Sutton can do on the football field.
On top of a modest three interceptions in 2022, Sutton ranked fourth-best in the NFL of 67 qualifying cornerbacks in holding receivers to catching only 50.7% of targets when he was in coverage, and he was sixth-best in the NFL with a 69.6 passer-rating against. These are numbers that NFL teams value.
Omar Khan was open about how much they valued Sutton when he spoke to reporters at the NFL Combine, and confirmed that the team had been in contract negotiations with Sutton. Also, I was told by a team source Sutton was the Steelers' top priority among their impending free agents. Evidently, the Lions outbid what the Steelers were willing to pay.
The Steelers have around $11 million in salary cap space at the time this story was published. Now, Khan and the Steelers will have to turn their attention elsewhere in order to improve their roster. Cornerback is definitely a position of need as Levi Wallace, Ahkello Witherspoon and Arthur Maulet are the only cornerbacks under contract that logged snaps in 2022.
Important note to remember over the next couple days: From the time the legal tampering period opened until free agency officially begins Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., any contracts that are agreed to cannot be made official just yet. Teams can negotiate with players' representation and even agree to the terms of a contract, but pen can't be put to paper until the official start of free agency.
With Sutton agreeing to a contract elsewhere, here are the remaining Steelers' free agents:
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (17)
• DT Larry Ogunjobi (2022 cap hit: $8 million)
• ILB Devin Bush ($6M)
• FB Derek Watt ($4.713M)
• QB Mason Rudolph ($4.04M)
• DT Tyson Alualu ($3.463M)
• DT Chris Wormley ($2.9M)
• ILB Marcus Allen ($2.54M)
• WR Miles Boykin ($2.54M)
• ILB Robert Spillane ($2.433M)
• OLB Malik Reed ($1.5M)
• G/T Jesse Davis ($1.45M)
• SS Terrell Edmunds ($1.188M)
• RB Benny Snell Jr. ($1.141M)
• TE Zach Gentry ($1.051M)
• OT Trent Scott ($0.895M)
• S Damontae Kazee ($0.76M)
• S Karl Joseph ($0.48M)
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (4)
• CB James Pierre ($0.898M)
• WR Steven Sims ($0.895M)
• C J.C. Hassenauer ($0.895M)
• RB Jeremy McNichols ($0.48M)
OTHER NOTABLE SIGNINGS FROM AROUND THE NFL
• The Bears made a massive two-pronged splash at off-the-ball linebacker, a position the Steelers need to address. First, T.J. Edwards agreed to a three-year, $19.5-million contract with $12 million guaranteed. Then, Chicago followed up by signing arguably the top name at the position, adding Tremaine Edmunds on a massive four-year, $72-million contract with $50 million guaranteed.
• Javon Hargrave agreed to a massive four-year, $84-million contract with the 49ers. The former Steeler got paid.
• Germaine Pratt re-signed with the Bengals, agreeing to a three-year, $21-million contract. That's another inside linebacker off the board. However, the Bengals lost both of their starting safeties: Vonn Bell agreed to terms with the Panthers and Jessie Bates agreed to terms with the Falcons.
