Artavis Pierce (born May 17, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Pierce signed with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

as an undrafted free agent following the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

on April 28, 2020. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on July 27, 2020, and activated six days later. He was waived on September 5, as part of final roster cuts, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. The Bears promoted Pierce to the active roster on September 29. He made his NFL debut in Week 6 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

as a special teams player, while his first carries came four weeks later against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, during which he rushed three times for nine yards. Pierce's first touchdown was in Week 16, a victory over the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, with a three-yard rushing score that had been set up by a 23-yard run out of the

Wildcat formation Wildcat formation is a formation for the offense in football in which the ball is snapped not to the quarterback but directly to a player of another position lined up at the quarterback position. (In most systems, this is a running back, but some ...

on the previous play. On August 31, 2021, Pierce was waived by the Bears and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. However he was subsequently released on September 8, 2021. On October 5, 2021, Pierce was re-signed to the practice squad following injuries to multiple running backs on the active roster. He was waived from the practice squad on December 28, 2021.

Cleveland Browns

On January 5, 2022, Pierce was signed to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

' practice squad.

DC Defenders

On November 17, 2022, Pierce was drafted by the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the XFL. He was placed on the reserve list by the team on March 14, 2023, and activated on May 16. He was not part of the roster after the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

on January 15, 2024.

Edmonton Elks

Pierce signed with the

on March 21, 2025.

References

External links

Oregon State Beavers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Artavis 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Polk County, Florida Players of Canadian football from Florida American football running backs Canadian football running backs Oregon State Beavers football players Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players DC Defenders players Edmonton Elks players 21st-century American sportsmen