Michael Pierce (born November 6, 1992) is an American former 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 ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who played for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

before transferring to Samford and was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2016, where he spent the next four seasons. He signed with the

in 2020 and played there for two seasons before returning to the Ravens in 2022. Pierce announced his retirement on March 12, 2025.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pierce was not invited to the

NFL combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

. At his

Pro Day 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 ...

, he ran 10 meter split faster than any

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

at the combine (1.67 vs Alex McCalister's 1.68) and performed a

broad jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

inside the Top 15 for defensive lineman.

Baltimore Ravens (first stint)

On May 3, 2016, Pierce signed with the

as an undrafted free agent. As a rookie in the 2016 season, Pierce appeared in all 16 games and finished the season with 35

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, two sacks, and one

pass defended In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

. On September 10, in the 2017 season opener against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, Pierce recovered a Terrell Suggs-forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

, which came off of quarterback

Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American professional football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "the Red Rifle", he played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, wher ...

, in the 20–0 victory. On March 9, 2019, the Ravens placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Pierce. On May 1, the Ravens re-signed Pierce.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 25, 2020, Pierce signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the

. On July 28, Pierce announced he would opt out of the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and was placed on the reserve/opt-out list by the Vikings. Pierce returned in 2021 as a starting

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. 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 The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on November 13, 2021. Pierce was activated on December 4. Pierce was released on March 15, 2022.

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On March 17, 2022, Pierce signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract with the Ravens. He suffered a torn biceps in Week 3 and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on September 29. Pierce entered the 2023 season as the starting

for the Ravens. On January 6, 2024, he signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract extension through the 2025 season. In 2025, Pierce recorded his first career interception late in the fourth quarter during Baltimore's season finale against 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 ...

. At 355 pounds, Pierce became the heaviest NFL player to record an interception since at least 2000. In 11 appearances for Baltimore, Pierce recorded 1 interception, 2 pass deflections, 2.0 sacks, and 19 combined tackles. On March 12, 2025, Pierce announced his retirement from the NFL.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Samford Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Michael 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Daphne, Alabama American football defensive tackles Tulane Green Wave football players Samford Bulldogs football players Baltimore Ravens players Minnesota Vikings players