NFL cornerback SUSPENDED for eight games after finally turning himself in over domestic battery incident following nearly a month on the run

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton has been suspended without pay by the NFL for the first eight games of the upcoming season.

It was determined after a league investigation that Sutton had violated the league's Personal Conduct Policy.

He will be eligible to be reinstated on October 29 after the Steeler's Week 8 contest against the New York Giants.

It was later revealed that Sutton would not be appealing the decision handed down by the league. 

Sutton was charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from a domestic violence incident that occurred earlier this year.

Police issued an arrest warrant for Sutton on March 7 and led to the cornerback avoiding police before finally turning himself in on March 31.

After being booked into jail, he was released. He was initially charged with a felony, but that was reduced down to a misdemeanor.

As part of an agreement, Sutton underwent a mental health evaluation and eventually entered a pretrial diversion program for batterers on April 8 to resolve the case.

At the time that Sutton turned himself in, the cornerback and the mother of his child 'request[ed] privacy'.

'... They view this as a family matter and wish to resolve it as a family,' the statement ends. 

Police got a call relating to an alleged incident involving the player at around 4:35am on the morning of March 7 in Hillsborough County, Florida.

'We tried to make contact with (Sutton),' public affairs official Phil Martello said. 'We've called him, no answer. He's been ducking us. Our deputies have exhausted all leads here.

'He's got vehicles and a home in a county one over from us and he's not been there and we've not been able to catch him there.

'So, again, it seems like he's turned his phone off or gotten rid of his phone or something because we haven't been able to get ahold of him.' 

Detroit Lions president and CEO Rod Wood revealed that Sutton was at the team's workout facility when the warrant for his arrest started circulating online.

Wood said he did not speak with Sutton directly, but members of his staff did, and advised him to turn himself into police.

The Detroit Lions had signed Sutton, age 29, to a three-year, $33m deal last year but cut him after news of the arrest warrant made headlines.

The Steelers signed Sutton to a one-year contract to return to Pittsburgh for his second stint with the team back on June 5.

Sutton was picked by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft and played with them between 2017-2022. He then played for the Lions for one season.