While Detroit Lions cornerback Cam Sutton may not bear the captain’s “C” on his jersey, a glance at the Lions’ social media page following their victory over the Atlanta Falcons makes it abundantly clear why Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes secured his services with a three-year deal in the offseason. In addition to his outstanding performance on the field, he exudes the qualities of a leader in the locker room.
“He’s reliable, and that’s what we invested in,” Campbell stated to reporters on Tuesday. “A dependable, reliable player who’s competitive and adept at handling multiple coverages; he fits our team seamlessly. He’s everything we anticipated, and then some.”
While Sutton’s production may not jump off the screen like that of fellow newcomers C.J. Gardner-Johnson before his injury or rookie Brian Branch in the initial games of the season, he has undeniably proven his worth as the lockdown corner the Lions desperately needed. In the first three games, opposing quarterbacks have managed to complete only 53% of their passes when targeting him, with a passer rating of 73.9. Impressively, Sutton has yet to allow a single touchdown.
As the Lions set their sights on winning their first NFC North title, Sutton’s leadership emerges as a crucial asset in their pursuit. Recognizing the weight of this responsibility, he not only motivates himself but also inspires his teammates to strive for excellence, aiming to make their outstanding Sunday performance the new benchmark for the defense.
That should be our identity every time we step out there on the field. That’s the expectation that we have for ourselves and what we hold ourselves to,” Sutton told MLive. “So it doesn’t matter the opponent, it doesn’t matter necessarily who sees, as if it’s a high-powered offense, or what we’re going against, or this, that, and the third.
“We know that with the guys that we have, the scheme that we have, when we are executing it on our game, when we come with that energy, when we come with that fire that we need and have every time we step into a stadium, a lot of positive things are going to happen.”
In Sutton’s eyes, the showing the Lions defense had on Sunday is just a starting point for what they can build on because he’s aware of what they are capable of as a unit. And his confidence is rubbing off on others inside the Lions locker room as well. Linebacker Derrick Barnes, who is now in his third season in Detroit, spoke on the impact Sutton has made so far.
“A lot of leadership. Cam is a guy that you can really depend on any day of the week. Definitely on Sundays game days,” Barnes told MLive. “He definitely brings a lot of energy. He’s smart man. He’s intelligent football player, has a very high IQ for the game and is a guy who’s willing to work, who’s willing to put in extra work, whether that’s on the field watching film. He’s definitely a guy that, especially young guys like me for sure look up to.”
As Detroit heads to Green Bay to play the Packers this Thursday, Sutton knows it’s a big deal to play teams in their own division. He believes these games set the tone and show who’s in charge. He shared that winning the division makes you proud and means you get to host playoff games in your city instead of traveling.
Sutton knows what it takes to win divisions, having done it twice with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017 and 2020. Because of that, he understands that winning against the Packers early in the season is crucial for the Lions’ goal of winning their division and hosting a playoff game at Ford Field.
“Obviously that’s just a pride thing of just protecting your backyard, you know what I mean? Just wrecking all the teams that’s in your division,” Sutton said. That’s just the nature of the rights. Again, it’s just a mentality for all of us, and it’s going to take one week at a time.