After a nine-year profession, Ravens defensive sort out Michael Pierce introduced he’s retiring (via the Sports Spectrum podcast hosted by former NFL operating again Matt Forte).
Pierce expressed appreciation for his time in the NFL and specifically thanked former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and former defensive line coach Joe Cullen, who brought Pierce to Baltimore as an undrafted free agent out of Samford University in 2016. He made the Ravens’ 53-man roster as a rookie and never looked back, quickly becoming one of the league’s stoutest nose tackles.
“They gave me a chance when not many people were willing to take a chance on me,” said Pierce. He also thanked “big brothers” Terrell Suggs and Brandon Williams, who mentored him throughout his first stint in Baltimore.
Pierce performed in 60 video games (30 begins) for the Ravens from 2016 to 2019 with 3.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss, incomes him a three-year, $27M deal from the Vikings. With a historical past of bronchial asthma and different respiratory issues, Pierce opted out of the 2020 season as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. He lastly debuted in Minnesota in 2021, however performed in solely eight video games because of an elbow harm. He nonetheless put up a career-high 3.0 sacks, however the Vikings opted to maneuver on earlier than the 2022 season.
The Ravens then swooped in to reunited with Pierce on a three-year, $16.5M deal. He performed in simply three video games because of a torn bicep in 2022, however beginning all 17 video games the next 12 months as a core a part of Baltimore’s league-leading protection. One other harm restricted Pierce to only 11 video games in 2024, however returned by the tip of the common season to finish his profession with a spotlight. In Week 18 towards the Browns, Pierce grew to become the heaviest participant since at the very least 2000 to report an interception at 355 kilos. He was additionally the NFL’s largest lively defender earlier than his retirement.
Pierce’s measurement made him an efficient run-stuffer who might take up double-teams in the midst of the line of defense. He remained a stable defender till his retirement, however stints on injured reserve in three of the final 4 seasons made retirement a severe chance earlier than his age-33 season. The Ravens are at the moment set to return Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, and Broderick Washington to their line of defense in 2025, however they might want to add depth over the following few months.
Pierce had an choice 12 months set to set off on March 17 that included a further $2M choice bonus if he remained on the roster, per OverTheCap. As an alternative, his retirement will depart $2M in useless cash, $1.33M of which could be pushed into 2026 with a post-June 1 designation. That might save the Ravens $2M towards the 2025 cap with simply $667k of useless cash this 12 months.
