James Pierre Jr. (born September 16, 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the Florida Atlantic Owls and signed with the Steelers as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2020. Pierre has also been a member of the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

Early life

Pierre attended Deerfield Beach High School. As a senior, he registered 48 tackles, four

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

and two pass break-ups, helping Deerfield Beach to a 10–2 record.

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe countie ...

named him one of the Top 25 seniors in

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

, while the ''

Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, an ...

'' named him all-county honorable mention. Pierre was considered a three-star prospect and the No. 48 safety in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com's composite rankings. He initially committed to Miami (FL) over offers from

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, but switched his commitment to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in February 2016. Pierre was denied admission and committed to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

College career

Pierre was ruled academically ineligible by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

for his freshman season. He transferred to Florida Atlantic and had 21 tackles and two pass deflections as a freshman in 2017. Pierre posted 55 tackles and nine pass breakups as a sophomore. On November 2, 2019, he made two interceptions in a 35–24 win over Western Kentucky. As a junior in 2019, Pierre recorded 44 tackles, 4.5 tackles for losses and three interceptions. He finished his collegiate career with 120 total tackles, 18 pass breakups, 8 1/2 tackles for losses and three interceptions in 39 games. Pierre declared for the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

following the season.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers (first stint)

After going undrafted in 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 ...

, Pierre signed an undrafted free agent deal with the

. He was named to the Steelers' initial 53-man roster, the only undrafted free agent to make the team in that fashion in 2020. On September 19, 2021, Pierre made his first career NFL start, filling in due to a groin injury to Joe Haden. Pierre made his first NFL interception in a game against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

on October 10, 2021. On March 21, 2023, Pierre re–signed with the Steelers.

Washington Commanders

Pierre signed with the

on March 21, 2024. He was released on August 27, 2024.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

On September 17, 2024, Pierre signed with the Steelers practice squad. He played against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

on September 22, 2024 and then signed to the active roster on September 24. On March 20, 2025, Pierre was re-signed by the Steelers on a one-year contract.

Personal life

Pierre's cousin is two-time

NFL MVP In American football, most valuable player (MVP) awards are given by various entities to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the most valuable during the regular season. Organizations which issue an NFL MVP award include t ...

Lamar Jackson Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American professional football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, winning the Heisman T ...

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bioFlorida Atlantic Owls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierre, James 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Broward County, Florida American football cornerbacks Florida Atlantic Owls football players Sportspeople from Deerfield Beach, Florida Pittsburgh Steelers players Washington Commanders players