Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce is healthy again, a welcome sight for the team and its fans.
After playing for Baltimore for four years, the 6-foot, 340-pound defensive tackle left for Minnesota for two years before he signed back with Baltimore ahead of the 2022 season. Pierce looks forward to again helping Baltimore, the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Samford in 2016.
“It means the world. It’s kind of hard to put it into words,” Pierce said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 19. “… Just to be able to put on those pads and go to practice, let alone to be back in The Bank, contributing to winning, that’s a football player’s dream.”
Pierce has accumulated 187 tackles (16 for loss) and 6.5 sacks throughout his career, but he has struggled to stay healthy in recent years. He only played in three games last season before suffering a season-ending biceps injury. In 2021, he suffered an elbow injury that limited his season to just eight games. He opted out of the 2020 COVID season.
Veterans Marcus Peters, Justin Houston and Calais Campbell left via free agency last offseason, and filling in for them is no small task. Injuries to key defensive players like Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Williams and Odafe Oweh make the task more daunting. But Pierce is up to the challenge — and isn’t fazed by it.
“The Ravens were the Ravens prior to Calais coming here. I was there for that part, prior to Justin Houston, prior to any of us in the room being there,” Pierce said. “… We had a great offseason. Guys really came in. We had really great attendance, honestly, in the offseason, just coming in and working throughout OTAs, throughout camp.”
Before his injury last season, Pierce recorded six tackles and a forced fumble. Pierce has contributed 10 tackles and recovered a fumble across three starts this season, helping Baltimore to a 2-1 start.
“I feel great,” Pierce said. “It’s just a testament to God giving me the ability to get back healthy, my wife for staying on me when I was down on myself, and just the guys and the people I’ve had throughout rehab.”
During the recovery process, Pierce never questioned how much work it would take. He just wasn’t sure if his body, soon to be 31 years old, could handle another rehab.
“I love this game more than any other thing that I’ve ever done in my life,” Pierce said. “For me, the work wasn’t the question. It was just about if my body could hold up in getting back up to speed and getting back to doing what I believe I’m able to do.”
Now that he’s back, Pierce is a leader in the locker room and a mentor for some of the younger players on the defense.
“Once I was back to speed, just putting that work in, [defensive line coach Anthony Weaver] trusting me, allowing me to be a leader in the room, that’s all the motivation I ever needed,” Pierce said. “To be a part of the head of the Ravens’ defense, it’s more than I could ever ask for.”
For more from Pierce, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox