RAVENS, STARTING DT MICHAEL PIERCE AGREE TO NEW TWO-YEAR DEAL
The Baltimore Ravens and starting defensive tackle Michael Pierce have agreed to a 2-year, $7.5 million deal, as first reported by ESPN’s Field Yates on Saturday morning.
Pierce, who spent time with the Vikings two years before signing with the Ravens last year, has registered 37 tackles this season, a sack, a forced fumble and a pair of fumble recoveries. A Samford University alumnus, Pierce went undrafted in the 2016 draft before being picked up by the Ravens.
The 6-foot, 355-pound nose tackle spent the first four years of his career in Charm City before signing a huge three-year, $27 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings. After he opted-out in 2020 and an injury-plagued 2021 campaign, Pierce eventually ended up signing in Baltimore in 2022, with a chance to return to form with a team he was familiar with.
A battle-tested, veteran lineman, Pierce is as good as it gets as far as run stoppers go in the NFL. The 31-year-old has started all 16 games for the Ravens defense, which boasts a top two unit in the league this year, allowing the fewest points (16.4) and the fourth-fewest yards (302.1) in the NFL.
The Daphne, Alabama-born nose tackle is ranked 11th among all defensive tackles in the NFL against the run this year with a 73.9 grade, per PFF, with his pass rush grade ranking him 40th, ahead of San Francisco 49ers’ Javon Kinlaw, Falcons’ Grady Jarrett and Dolphins’ Zach Sieler. The former Bulldog’s impact on the field remains undeniable as Pierce ranks third on the Ravens defense in run stop win rate (36.9%) and second among the team’s defensive linemen with 19 pass-rush wins.
Pierce spoke about his leadership on defense and admitted to playing with a chip on his shoulder during the offseason. “Oh certainly,” said Pierce. “Undrafted, [I] fought my way from the back, [and] to be looked up [to] as a leader on this defense and on this D-line is more than I could ever dream of or imagine. Just to have the opportunity to lead those guys and play next to Brody [Broderick Washington], Beeks [Justin Madubuike] and everybody is a blessing in itself.”
“It’s about proving who I am, just earning that each and every day and when the games come, put in on film every week.”
Pierce signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal in 2022, but restructured his deal in March, which made him a free agent after this year.
Following a healthy 2023 regular season in which he played a career-high 619 snaps, the veteran nose tackle now gets rewarded with a new deal that will keep him on one of the best teams in the league through 2025. Pierce is now the second defensive lineman the Ravens have extended this season, following DT Broderick Washington, who a signed three-year, $16.5 million extension in August.
For Baltimore, the next order of business should be extending breakout star pass rusher Justin Madubuike, who will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
A third-round defensive tackle out of Texas A&M University, the fourth-year player has had one of the most dominant seasons at the position this year, contributing a team-leading 13 total sacks to the Ravens’ league best sack total (57) and should get a much deserved pay day after the season he’s had. An impact player on all three downs, Madubuike has been devastating both in the pass and run game and earned his maiden Pro Bowl selection just last week.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Maryland Gov Pictures. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.