Michael Pierce, a nose tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in March. Rather, the former outstanding player from Samford and Daphne High School will remain with the Ravens.
ESPN said on Saturday that Baltimore and Pierce had reached an agreement on a two-year, $7.5 million contract deal. The ESPN report was posted on the official Ravens website, but it was not verified.
Pierce has played a career-high 605 defensive snaps in 2023. Baltimore’s regular season ends on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CST against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The winner advances to the AFC playoffs as the top seed. This season, Pierce has racked up 36 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
When Daphne’s AHSAA Class 6A championship team defeated Hoover 7–6, Pierce was named an all-state player and took home the Most Valuable Player Award in the state championship game. The Trojans finished the season 15-0.
In 2016, Pierce was a rookie undrafted out of Samford who signed with Baltimore. However, he made the squad, participated in every match, and entered the starting lineup for his subsequent season.
Pierce signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings after spending four seasons with the Ravens. He chose not to play in the 2020 season as part of the NFL’s plan to play during the coronavirus epidemic, and he was only able to play in eight games in 2021 due to an injury.
Pierce signed a three-year contract with Baltimore after being released by Minnesota following the 2021 campaign. However, after three games, a torn biceps forced him to miss the entire season.
Pierce accepted a pay cut in a renegotiated contract in March that allowed him to become a free agency a year earlier, as the Ravens were looking for salary-cap room and the defensive lineman had only played 11 games in the previous three seasons.
