Ravens defensive lineman Michael Pierce has announced his retirement after nine seasons, and he went out with a flourish
An undrafted free agent in 2016, Pierce became one of the game's best nose tackles, known for his run-stopping prowess. He played seven of his nine years in Baltimore, where it all started.
"After nine seasons, after much prayer, talking to my family, just going through the grind, man, and just being satisfied with there I am, looking forward to doing other things in life, I just decided to call it a career," Pierce said on Sports Spectrum’s podcast. "It's been a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful nine years."
Pierce finishes his career with 99 games played, 238 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception.
In an amazing twist of fate, that interception came on his final regular-season snap. Pierce's interception of Cleveland Browns quarterback Bailey Zappe went viral after the 355-pounder took a knee prematurely and was swarmed by adoring teammates, leaving him with a lifelong memory.
Pierce is one of the Ravens' finest stories and a beloved player in the locker room. The Daphne, Ala. product went to Samford University, where the Ravens discovered him. He cracked the 53-man roster after he made a huge hit and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the team's final preseason game that year. He launched and finished his career with big plays.
Pierce thanked many people in his life, including his father for giving him his start in youth football, Ozzie Newsome for bringing him to the NFL, and his current and former coaches and teammates for instilling the game and confidence in him. He thanked General Manager Eric DeCosta for bringing him from the Vikings back to Baltimore, where he had three more strong seasons to cap his career.
"They gave me a chance when not many people were willing to take a chance on me. So I'm grateful for them," Pierce said of the Ravens.
The Ravens ranked first in the league in run defense last season (80.1 yards per game) with Pierce being a key cog. Baltimore ranked in the top five of run defense in the league in five of Pierce's seven seasons with the Ravens.
Pierce started to hand over the reigns last season, as Travis Jones took over a larger share of the snap counts. Pierce went from 55% of snaps in 2023 to 32% in 2024, but was still very effective when on the field. He and good friend Brent Urban (the "Fun Bunch") were quite the tandem on and off the field.
Baltimore will look to bolster the defensive line in this year's draft, which is particularly strong at that position. Jones (third round, 2022) is the only defensive tackle the Ravens have drafted in the past four years.
