Versatile DB gets chance to impress
A year ago, a hamstring injury forced Cameron Sutton to miss most of training camp and landed him on injured reserve at the start of the season.
Sutton’s misfortune was Mike Hilton’s gain. Hilton turned heads in camp with his play and won a roster spotand the starting slot corner job, the spot the Steelers eyed for Sutton when they selected him in the third roundof the 2017 draft.
The roles have been switched this summer. Hilton has a lower body injury and will miss a second consecutive game Saturday when the Steelers play the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field. Now it’s Sutton’s turn to show the coaches what he can do in the slot.
The Steelers are being cautious with Hilton, who is not in danger of losing his job. But it does present Sutton with another opportunity to display his versatility.
Sutton has been one of the more versatile members of the secondary in training camp. In addition to playing in the slot, he has played outsidecorner and safety.
“It’s been really good,” Sutton said. “Obviously, it’s part of football, being able to adjust on the fly, being versatile and being able to move around during sequences of plays or drives. It kind of challenges my game as well. In one series, I might be a nickel and then the next series I might be at corner all quarter. It challenges me as an overall athlete and overall football player. I feel like it’s good for me to move around and see different things throughout the course of games.”
When Sutton was activated from injured reserve last season he played in five games and got his first NFL start against the Patriots in December when Joe Haden was injured. Sutton represented himself well and finished his rookie season with five tackles.
In the Steelers’ first preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sutton played outside corner and intercepted a pass. He said he feels comfortable enough at all three positions that he can line up anywhere and play without thinking twice about his assignment.
“It starts during practice, getting the reps and seeing it,” he said. “Then going out there on the field and knowing what to do. If you don’t know what to do, you can’t really fly around like you want to. That’s helping me out right now.”
Before Hilton’s injury, Sutton was getting an equal number of reps at all three secondary positions. With Hilton as the fifth defensive back and rookie Terrell Edmunds likely the sixth, Sutton’s role is undefined once the regular season begins.
The Steelers have experimented with their “dollar” package with seven defensive backs in camp. Sutton has bounced around in the dollar, and his assignment likely would change from week to week depending upon the opponent.
For now, he’ll continue to get reps in the slot until Hilton returns. He’s looking forward to playing with the starters again, something he did not do at all last summer as a rookie.
“It’s another opportunity to display what we’ve been working on in camp, all the work I put in, all the work the rest of the guys have been putting in,” Sutton said. “We want to see it all come together. It’s about enduring what comes throughout the game and being ready for any situation and being able to overcome anything.”