Warning: This story includes details of an alleged domestic assault.
The NFL suspended Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton eight games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy following allegations in March that he committed domestic battery by strangulation, the league announced Monday.
Sutton was a member of the Detroit Lions at the time of the allegation. The Lions released him on March 21 after police in Florida announced that he was wanted for arrest on a warrant issued on March 7. At the time, police said that they were unable to locate Sutton two weeks after the warrant was issued.
Sutton eventually turned himself in to law enforcement in Tampa on March 31. After he initially faced a felony charge, Sutton was booked on misdemeanor battery. He agreed to a pretrial diversion program on April 17. He’s required to undergo a mental health evaluation and is barred from possessing weapons, including firearms.
Sutton, 29, signed with the Steelers on June 5. He played his first six seasons in Pittsburgh before joining the Lions for a single season in 2023.
What Sutton was accused of
In a police affidavit, authorities said Sutton assaulted the mother of his three children around 4:45 a.m. on March 7. Per the affidavit as reported by the Tampa Bay Times, Sutton picked the woman up and slammed her into a wall. He then bit her on the neck, causing her to bleed, according to the affidavit.
Sutton then grabbed her by the neck and face and choked her until she briefly lost consciousness, the affidavit states. He then held her down on the floor and struck her twice with his fist, causing a knot to swell on her forehead, according to the affidavit.
The Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office closed the felony case and filed a misdemeanor battery charge against Sutton after he turned himself in while stating that he “did actually and intentionally touch or strike” or “did intentionally cause bodily harm.”
“After reviewing the evidence, it was appropriate for our office to move forward on misdemeanor domestic battery charges,” Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office spokesperson Erin Maloney wrote in an email to the Times.
Sutton declined to discuss his pending legal proceedings when he joined the Steelers in June.
“My job is to be the best version of myself and how do I give that off to the mass or how do I give that off to everyone around me?” Sutton told reporters on June 5, per ESPN. “I’m in full control of that.”
“So, I’m never worried about a narrative. I’m never worried about what necessarily people say, because obviously, more than likely, they don’t know me more than anybody else. … Everybody goes through adversity. Everybody goes through things in their life that can change in both directions. So, it’s all about how you stand on that and what you do from that.”
Sutton joined the Steelers as a third-round pick in the 2018 draft. He played four seasons primarily as a backup before joining the starting lineup for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He started 17 games for a Lions defense in 2023 that finished 27th in the league in passing yards allowed.
Sutton will be eligible for reinstatement on Oct. 29 ahead of Pittsburgh’s Week 10 game against the Washington Commanders.