Falcons’ James Pearce Jr. Handed Eight-Game Suspension

A February 7 incident in which Pearce crashed his vehicle while fleeing police eventually brought three felony charges. Police charged Pearce with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, and resisting an officer with violence to his or her person; a charge of felony aggravated stalking was eventually reduced to a misdemeanor. Pearce, 22, followed ex-girlfriend Rickea Jackson (of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky) in a white Lamborghini SUV after a falling out between the two.

Occurring in Doral, Fla., Pearce’s arrest stemmed from an accusation he intentionally crashed his Lamborghini into Jackson’s car to prevent her from reaching a police station. That incident led to the Pearce police chase. Upon seeing Jackson’s vehicle stopped at a red light, Pearce is alleged to have exited his vehicle and attempted to enter Jackson’s by opening the driver’s door. Jackson — a 2024 first-round pick by the Los Angeles Sparks — drove away and attempted to reach the Doral Police Department.

According to a complaint, Pearce then entered his vehicle and used it to strike Jackson’s multiple times to prevent her from reaching the station. Officers attempted to intervene, and an affidavit states Pearce fled the scene by driving away. Once Pearce crashed at an intersection while being chased, he fled on foot. Police eventually caught up to and arrested him, and Jackson was later granted a protective order.

Jackson, 25, transferred to Tennessee during Pearce’s tenure with the Volunteers. She and Pearce had reportedly dated for three years. New Falcons GM Ian Cunningham called the situation “concerning” earlier this offseason. Pearce, however, formed a path to seeing the three felony charges dropped if he completes a pretrial diversion program.

The diversion program covers a one-year period that requires multiple conditions. Therapy sessions are part of the program, and no new legal troubles can take place if Pearce is to avoid jail time. He also must stay away from Jackson during that time. The deal, however, does not require Pearce to admit guilt. The NFL, of course, does not need a conviction on charges to levy a suspension. And this one guts the Falcons’ pass rush.

Pearce will lose more than $445K in base salary as a result of this suspension, per Spotrac, which adds the Falcons can recoup more than $982K in signing bonus money as a result. The Falcons traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Rams — which was eventually used on quarterback Ty Simpson — to move up for Pearce in the 2025 first round. Then-GM Terry Fontenot was prepared to take Pearce at No. 15 had Walker been off the board.

Character questions were part of Pearce’s draft profile, but the Falcons were rewarded for their gamble — on the field, at least. Pearce registered 10.5 sacks and 16 QB hits as a rookie. Also forcing a fumble, Pearce played the biggest role in transforming a struggling Atlanta pass rush. The Falcons, who also received 5.5 sacks from Walker, tallied 57 as a team. That trailed only the Broncos (68), and the number marked a 26-sack increase from the Falcons’ 2024 showing.

Atlanta had been eyeing pass rush aid before the Walker injury. The team did not re-sign Leonard Floyd this offseason, but the team did sign Samson Ebukam and Azeez Ojulari during the offseason. A fairly deep collection of edge rushers remains available still. Floyd, Von Miller, Joey Bosa, Kyle Van Noy, Haason Reddick and the now-unretired Za’Darius Smith are unsigned.