Michael Pierce (American football)
Michael Pierce (born November 6, 1992) is an American football defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Samford and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
No. 97 – Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Daphne, Alabama | November 6, 1992||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 345 lb (156 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Daphne (Daphne, Alabama) | ||||||||||||
College: | Samford | ||||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2016 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2020 | |||||||||||||
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Professional career
Pierce was not invited to the NFL combine. At his Pro Day, he ran 10 meter split faster than any DL at the combine (1.67 vs Alex McCalister's 1.68) and performed a broad jump inside the Top 15 for DL.[1][2]
Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
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6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
329 lb (149 kg) |
5.01 s | 1.67 s | 2.84 s | 27 in (0.69 m) |
9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) |
28 reps | |||||
All values from Pro Day[3] |
Baltimore Ravens
On May 3, 2016, Pierce signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent.[4] As a rookie in the 2016 season, Pierce appeared in all 16 games and finished the season with 35 tackles, two sacks, and one pass defended. On September 10, in the 2017 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pierce recovered a Terrell Suggs-forced fumble, which came off of quarterback Andy Dalton, in the 20–0 victory.[5] On March 9, 2019, the Ravens placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Pierce.[6] On May 1, 2019, the Ravens re-signed Pierce.[7]
Minnesota Vikings
On March 25, 2020, Pierce signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.[8][9] On July 28, 2020, Pierce announced he would opt out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was placed on the reserve/opt-out list by the Vikings.[10]
References
- "Alex McCalister". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- "NFL Combine Top DL". NFL.com. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=1004704&draftyear=2016&genpos=DT
- "Ravens Sign 11 Undrafted Rookie Free Agents". baltimoreravens.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
- "Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals - September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- "Ravens expected to give DT Michael Pierce a second-round tender". BaltimoreBeatdown.com. March 9, 2019.
- Ulrich, Logan (May 1, 2019). "Ravens Re-Sign RFA DT Michael Pierce".
- Shaffer, Jonas (March 18, 2020). "Former Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce reportedly agrees to three-year deal with Vikings".
- Young, Lindsey (March 18, 2020). "Vikings Agree to Terms to Sign Former Ravens DT Michael Pierce". Vikings.com.
- "Vikings Announce Roster Moves". Vikings.com. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.