A rising talent is headed to the Motor City.
The Detroit Lions are signing cornerback Cameron Sutton to a three-year deal, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday. Sutton's contract is worth $33 million, with $22.5 million guaranteed, per Rapoport.
Sutton's payday is the product of a half-dozen years of work at the professional level for the Tennessee product who began his career as a backup in Pittsburgh before developing into a quality starter just as his time with the Steelers was winding down. Sutton posted the best season of his NFL career in 2022, recording career-high totals in interceptions (three) and passes defensed (15) in a Steelers defense that proved to be highly disruptive and opportunistic, especially in its secondary.
He's a player Pittsburgh likely would've loved to keep, but wasn't willing to pay when other, cheaper options were available.
Detroit, meanwhile, is looking for a playmaker at the position opposite former first-round selection Jeff Okudah, who hasn't lived up to expectations due to a combination of injury issues and a lack of consistency. Sutton's addition should shore up the position and take some of the pressure off Okudah, while also keeping the Lions from suffering a setback reminiscent of the first half of the 2022 season, when Detroit struggled to stop anyone on a weekly basis.
Sutton ranked 15th in Gregg Rosenthal's Top 101 free agents list, marking a significant signing for the upstart Lions, who nearly rallied their way into the postseason in 2022. A productive offseason could get them over the hump.
