Defensive tackle Michael Pierce is officially hanging up his cleats. The 32-year-old announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday via the Sports Spectrum Podcast.
“I’d like to thank a few people personally,” Pierce said after explaining his reasons for retiring now. “Obviously, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ first and foremost.” He then went on to thank family members and NFL coaches, front-office personnel and teammates.
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Pierce, who went undrafted out of Samford University in 2016, carved out quite a career for himself. He signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2016, made the team, played in all 16 games his rookie year, and established himself as a key piece in Baltimore’s defensive front for the following three seasons.
He then signed with the Minnesota Vikings in March 2020, but opted out of that season due to COVID-19. He returned in 2021, yet played in only eight games with the Vikings due to an elbow injury. After being released in March 2022, Pierce re-signed with the Ravens just days later and played his final three NFL seasons in Baltimore.
The first and only interception of his career came this past season in the fourth quarter of a 35-10 win against the Cleveland Browns on Jan. 4 — his final regular-season game. The 355-pounder became the biggest NFL player to record an interception since at least 2000.
🚨 BIG MAN INT 🚨
Michael Pierce thought about it 😂 pic.twitter.com/MLmRVxzr12
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 5, 2025
Pierce finishes his career with 238 regular-season tackles, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and the one interception. He also added 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks in six postseason games over four seasons.
“I wanted to bring light to God,” Pierce said on the podcast when asked why he chose Sports Spectrum to announce his big news. “Obviously, He’s the only reason I’m here. … I’m grateful for everything that God has blessed me with. And like I said, it’s been a true joy.”
Pierce went on to detail the privileges as well as the pressures of growing up as a pastor’s kid in Alabama. He was in church for hours each Sunday, hearing the Word of God and benefiting from a community of believers. However, the implicit expectations for perfection from the son of the pastor wore on him.
“To the PKs (pastors’ kids), there’s something I had to learn,” he said. “You cannot get by on your parents’ faith. You cannot get by on your parents’ faith. I had to learn that in college when I got myself into a situation. I wasn’t playing and all this stuff, and my life just was a mess. And I ended up transferring to Samford from Tulane. I had to learn faith for myself, not through ritual, not through anything else, but through my relationship [with Christ].”
Michael Pierce, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
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Pierce, who rededicated his life to Christ and was baptized in 2020, is already busy filling up his post-NFL schedule. He enjoys art and gardening, and he plans to enter the world of real estate with some of his family members. He’s also planning to give much of his time to ministry with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and with Ransom, a Christian campus ministry that began at Samford (a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama) and has extended to many universities in the Southeast U.S.
“I’ve just been able to do more than — I guess [the Bible] would say exceedingly more than, abundantly more than — you can ever think or imagine. … God’s handprint has guided me to this point,” he said. “And then I’m sure He’s going to send me somewhere else where I can use His voice and His reason and His grace to, you know, magnify His presence in my life and others’ as well.
“…I’m just going to walk the way God has called me to walk and be the person He’s called me to be.”
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
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