Former Tennessee football star Cam Sutton wanted in connection with physical altercation

Detroit Lions cornerback Cam Sutton, a former star player at Tennessee, is wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident in Florida.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for Sutton's arrest earlier this month on one count of domestic battery by strangulation for an incident in Lutz, Florida, a suburb of Tampa.

Phil Martello, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said the department responded to a call for domestic violence in progress involving Sutton, 29, and a female around 5 a.m. March 7.

The victim suffered wounds that indicated an incident took place, Martello said, and an arrest warrant was issued the same day. On Wednesday, the department posted a message on social media asking for help locating Sutton.

In the post, the sheriff's office said Sutton may be driving a Jeep Grand Wagoneer and provided the license plate number. Martello said Sutton is believed to be in Florida, not Michigan.

"We served his warrant on the seventh because of all the evidence that we found there," Martello said. "Couldn’t find him here in Tampa, pretty sure he fled. We got a couple hits on his license plate (on) license plate readers, but haven’t been able to track him down here, so that’s where we’re at right now.

"They’ve attempted to make contact with him, can’t get him on the phone, so they’ve released — our detectives have exhausted everything to try and get ahold of him and that’s why we end up putting the stuff on social media."

Court records show that on March 6, a hearing via Zoom occurred in a paternity case between Sutton and Kortnee Alexander, and that on March 7, another hearing in the case was canceled. The Free Press reached out to the attorney for Alexander, but a message was not immediately returned.

The Lions released a statement on the situation on Wednesday afternoon: “We became aware of the ongoing legal situation involving Cam Sutton this morning. We will continue to monitor the situation and will not have further comment at this time.”

Sutton's attorney, Jason Setchen, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Sutton had a disappointing first season with the Lions after signing a three-year, $33 million deal last offseason. He made 65 tackles and had one interception while starting all 17 regular season games, but struggled late in the season and in the playoffs against No. 1 receivers.

The Lions traded for Carlton Davis III and signed Amik Robertson in free agency to bolster their secondary this offseason. Davis was expected to start as the team's No. 1 cornerback, opposite Sutton, with Robertson and Emmanuel Moseley serving as the team's top backups.

Sutton is scheduled to make $10.5 million this fall and carries a $12.68 million cap hit for 2024.

Free Press reporter Dave Boucher contributed to this report.