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Ravens DT Michael Pierce, Who Had Legendary INT Last Season, Retires

Pierce announced his retirement after nine seasons.

Eva Geitheim

Michael Pierce hauled in an interception with just over two minutes remaining in the Ravens' 31–10 win over Cleveland.
Michael Pierce hauled in an interception with just over two minutes remaining in the Ravens' 31–10 win over Cleveland. / ESPN
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Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday. Pierce played for both the Ravens and Minnesota Vikings over nine seasons before deciding to call it a career.

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

Pierce goes out after making one of the best plays of his career in one of his final games. In the Ravens' regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns this season, Pierce recorded his first career interception. He picked off Browns quarterback Bailey Zappe, and appeared ready to run down the field with the football before awkwardly sliding down just a few yards later.

"I don't want to end up as a meme on Instagram with my wife and everybody laughing at me," Pierce hilariously said of his decision to slide early at the time. "We did the right thing and we got down and kept it moving."

Pierce not only achieved a new personal feat with that play, but became the heaviest player to record an interception since at least 2000 at 335 pounds.

Over his career, Pierce went from an undrafted free agent out of Samford to a player that lasted nearly a decade in the NFL. He finished his career with 238 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one very memorable interception.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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