According to reports, Michael Pierce was removed from practice because he wasn’t in practice shape:
Michael Pierce is entering a contract season and according to reports, he was taken off the practice field today because of his lack of conditioning. That’s not the way he needed to start the 2019 season. The good news is that John Harbaugh and the Ravens did the responsible thing, avoiding an injury for an unready player. The bad news is that even if it’s not a huge deal, it isn’t good.
Pierce makes a living because of his ability to physically bring results on the football field. He happens to play one of the positions where players carry the most weight; that being said being is first on the job description. It’s easy to play this off as no big deal. Pierce has plenty of time to get ready for the football season. Championships are not won in June or July no matter what the most eager coaches will try to tell you.
The bottom line is that Pierce has some work to do. If he does the work, gets in shape and has a good training camp, all will be forgiven. We’re at the point of the offseason where almost every headline is going to be a bad one. Lamar Jackson throwing the ball well isn’t news. Chris Moore feeling confident in practice isn’t news. Pierce coming into mandatory mini camp practices out of shape is news.
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Even in the scenario where Pierce makes up for this, the Ravens may not forget this. Pierce is on a career trajectory that should net him a fairly big contract at the end of the 2019 season. Should the Ravens invest in Pierce and give him a big pay day, they need to be able to trust him to handle his business.
Pierce is a player who has overachieved every step of the way. He was an undrafted free agent out of Samford and he’s the only reason you know that Samford has a football program. Pierce has been an impact player for the Ravens since 2016. Brandon Williams beat him to the pay day, yet Pierce may be the best defensive lineman the purple and black have. This is incongruent with what we have seen from Pierce this far into his career.
This is a mildly frustrating headline. It’s not the end of the world and it could serve as a very healthy wake up call for Pierce. Pierce has the power to earn an incredible pay day. This is a bad way to start such an importantly pivotal year in his career no matter how you look at it.