When the Baltimore Ravens kicked off their three-day mandatory minicamp, defensive tackle Michael Pierce arrived noticeably heavier than his listed 340 pounds. Shortly after the players were finished stretching, coach John Harbaugh spoke with Pierce and removed him from the practice field. Following practice, Harbaugh said it was considered a safety issue.
“He’s not ready to practice from a safety standpoint and for his own health,” Harbaugh said, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “We recognize that and pulled him off.”
Pierce skipped Baltimore’s strength and conditioning program as well as the organized team activities this offseason, choosing to work out on his own. However, Pierce took responsibility for his poor conditioning, blaming it on lifting more than running.
“Throughout the offseason, I tend to lift more than run,” Pierce told WNSP-FM radio, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “Being a noseguard, I want to be strong or whatnot. I, honestly, just mismanaged my running a little bit.”
While the Ravens don’t have training camp scheduled yet, it’s expected to start near the middle of July. That will give Pierce more than a month to slim down a bit ahead of training camp, something he said Harbaugh wanted him to do.
“Out of respect for Coach Harbaugh, he’s been nothing but a fair guy, he just wanted me to get in with the strength and conditioning staff and do more running before camp comes,” Pierce said.
The Ravens signed Pierce to a second-round restricted free agent tender that’ll make him an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Pierce has seen glowing reviews in recent years as a force in the center of Baltimore’s defensive line. With another big season, Pierce would be in line for a massive contract next offseason. But his season isn’t starting on the right track.
“At the end of the day, you expect a team leader to come back in better shape than I did,” Pierce said. “That’s a mistake on my behalf I have to correct. I don’t want to get into much more than that.”
