PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – In the win over Indianapolis, defensive jack-of-all trades Mike Hilton was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. The Steelers have another versatile defensive back and he will likely get a first playoff start Sunday night.
A third round pick in 2017, Cam Sutton likely subs for Joe Haden, who is on the COVID list, against the Browns. It’s just the eighth start of his career and for the free agent to be, an amazing opportunity.
“It’s very thrilling,” Sutton said Friday, not wanting to detail his future after the season. “I’m not necessarily nervous, I’m just very anxious. Very exciting.”
It’s the fourth start in the last five games for Sutton and now working on a couple of straight for Haden.
“It’s not a thing to where one guy goes out, it’s all panic mode or a lot of things have to change,” Sutton said. “The next guy gotta step up. The next guy gotta come with that mentality, that energy and be ready to go.”
“We have the utmost confidence in Cam Sutton,” said TJ Watt. “He’s the Swiss army knife too like Mike Hilton. He can do pretty much everything you ask him to do. He’s eager to do it all. Very, very smart when it comes to football. He’s got a lot of keys. He’s always taking a ton of notes. Just a good guy to have on the field. He’s a very good communicator, too. I’m excited to watch him play.”
“Cam Sutton is a wonderful football player, great football player,” said Stephon Tuitt. “He’s coming into his own this year. He made a lot of good plays for us. As you can see, he’s all over the field. He plays all different types of positions. That showcases his studying skills.”
It’s not only the players that credit Sutton’s versatility to his growth, his coordinator does as well.
“Cam has learned the defense, knows the defense,” said defensive coordinator Keith Butler. “He knows what everyone is doing, he knows where his help is and that is probably the biggest thing for him in terms of playing the position the way he has played it because he knows what he has beside him and what’s behind him. That always helps when you have players like that.”
“You always have to start with a fundamental base,” Sutton said. “Knowing where to line up, knowing your assignment pre-snap and post-snap. You have to start with those things first. You have to learn to communicate on all levels.”
“Maybe not having most of the reps I would want to have on a consistent basis. Learning from the guys who are in front of you, you can always learn something from that. It’s those small things that help you in your profession.”
“He’s played corner before, whether it’s right or left, he’s played while I’ve been here,” said safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. “I know how he plays. He knows how I play. He knows how everyone else plays. It’s good to have a guy that can play at a high level fill in for Joe.”
Sutton doesn’t have any picks this season, but forced a fumble in three straight games starting with the win at Baltimore in November. He’s also defended eight passes with 27 solo tackles.
Now on the biggest stage, against a rival team, Sutton makes a first post-season start and takes his first post-season defensive snaps on prime time Sunday night.
“It’s so exciting, there are no more words,” Sutton said. “I’m ready to go.”