| No. 58 – Baltimore Ravens | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Nose tackle | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | November 6, 1992 Daphne, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 355 lb (161 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Daphne | ||||||||||
| College: | |||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2016 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2023 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||
Michael Pierce (born November 6, 1992) is an American football nose tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulane before transferring to Samford and was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
Professional career
Pierce was not invited to the NFL combine. At his Pro Day, he ran 10 meter split faster than any DL at the combine (1.67 vs Alex McCalister's 1.68) and performed a broad jump inside the Top 15 for DL.[1][2]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+3⁄8 in (1.84 m) |
329 lb (149 kg) |
31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 5.01 s | 1.67 s | 2.84 s | 27 in (0.69 m) | 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) | 28 reps | |||
| All values from Pro Day[3] | ||||||||||||
Baltimore Ravens
On May 3, 2016, Pierce signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent.[4] As a rookie in the 2016 season, Pierce appeared in all 16 games and finished the season with 35 tackles, two sacks, and one pass defended. On September 10, in the 2017 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pierce recovered a Terrell Suggs-forced fumble, which came off of quarterback Andy Dalton, in the 20–0 victory.[5] On March 9, 2019, the Ravens placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Pierce.[6] On May 1, 2019, the Ravens re-signed Pierce.[7]
Minnesota Vikings
On March 25, 2020, Pierce signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.[8][9] On July 28, 2020, Pierce announced he would opt out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was placed on the reserve/opt-out list by the Vikings.[10]
Pierce returned in 2021 as a starting defensive tackle. He started the first four games before suffering an elbow injury in Week 4. He missed the next four games before being placed on injured reserve on November 13, 2021.[11] He was activated on December 4, 2021.[12]
Pierce was released on March 15, 2022.[13]
Baltimore Ravens (second stint)
On March 17, 2022, Pierce signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract with the Ravens.[14] He suffered a torn biceps in Week 3 and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on September 29, 2022.[15]
Pierce entered the 2023 season as the starting nose tackle for the Ravens. On January 6, 2024, he signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract extension through the 2025 season.[16]
NFL career statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2016 | BAL | 16 | 1 | 35 | 19 | 16 | 2.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | BAL | 16 | 13 | 49 | 32 | 17 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | BAL | 14 | 2 | 32 | 20 | 12 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | BAL | 14 | 14 | 35 | 19 | 16 | 0.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | MIN | 8 | 8 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | BAL | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | BAL | 17 | 17 | 42 | 24 | 18 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 84 | 54 | 219 | 130 | 89 | 7.5 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
References
- ↑ "Alex McCalister". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ "NFL Combine Top DL". NFL.com. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Michael Pierce, Samford, DT, 2016 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
- ↑ "Ravens Sign 11 Undrafted Rookie Free Agents". baltimoreravens.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
- ↑ "Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals - September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ↑ "Ravens expected to give DT Michael Pierce a second-round tender". BaltimoreBeatdown.com. March 9, 2019.
- ↑ Ulrich, Logan (May 1, 2019). "Ravens Re-Sign RFA DT Michael Pierce".
- ↑ Shaffer, Jonas (March 18, 2020). "Former Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce reportedly agrees to three-year deal with Vikings".
- ↑ Young, Lindsey (March 18, 2020). "Vikings Agree to Terms to Sign Former Ravens DT Michael Pierce". Vikings.com.
- ↑ "Vikings Announce Roster Moves". Vikings.com. July 28, 2020. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ↑ Smith, Eric (November 13, 2021). "Vikings Place Michael Pierce on Injured Reserve; Elevate 2 to Active Roster". Vikings.com.
- ↑ Peters, Craig (December 4, 2021). "Vikings Activate Pierce, Downgrade Kendricks on Injury Report". Vikings.com.
- ↑ "Vikings Released Defensive Tackle Michael Pierce". Vikings.com. March 15, 2022.
- ↑ Brown, Clifton (March 17, 2022). "Michael Pierce Agrees to Terms on Three-Year Contract With Ravens". BaltimoreRavens.com.
- ↑ Brown, Clifton (September 29, 2022). "Michael Pierce Has Season-Ending Surgery, Placed on IR". BaltimoreRavens.com.
- ↑ Alper, Josh (January 6, 2024). "Report: Michael Pierce agrees to two-year extension with Ravens". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.