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Former Samford DT Michael Pierce Announces Retirement After Nine Seasons

Zachary McKinnell|
Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce
Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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Samford BulldogsBaltimore RavensMinnesota VikingsTulane Green Wave

Former Samford defensive tackle Michael Pierce announced his retirement after nine seasons in the NFL on Wednesday.

Pierce played seven of his nine seasons with the Baltimore Ravens after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He played two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before returning to the Ravens for his final three seasons.

"After nine seasons, after much prayer, talking to my family, going through the grind and being satisfied where I am, looking forward to other things in my life, I've decided to call it a career," Pierce announced on the Sports Spectrum podcast. "It's been a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful nine years."

In 99 career games over nine seasons, Pierce recorded 238 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, and one interception.

Pierce made headlines in his final regular season game this season, making the game-sealing interception against Browns quarterback Bailey Zappe. According to Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Banner, Pierce is the only 355-pound player to record an interception in an NFL game since 2000.

Pierce started his collegiate career at Tulane, playing two seasons with the Green Wave before transferring to Samford. He was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team in 2011.

In three seasons with the Bulldogs, Pierce recorded 130 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, five sacks, and two forced fumbles. He earned All-SoCon honors in back-to-back seasons (2014-15) while being named the Preseason SoCon Defensive Player of the Year ahead of his senior season.

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Zachary McKinnell
ZACHARY MCKINNELL

Zach McKinnell is the Founder and Senior Editor of FCS Football Central. He is also a columnist for HERO Sports and a contributor for Athlon Sports. In 2022, he became an official voter in the FCS Stats Perform Top-25. He is a former contributor for Vols Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports Network, and Fly War Eagle on FanSided. Zach graduated from Auburn University in 2018.

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