The Atlanta Falcons are set to report for their spring activities in less than two weeks, and it remains unclear if edge rusher James Pearce Jr. will be with them. Players report on April 7, and the team’s top pass rusher is facing felony charges that aren’t expected to be resolved by then.
The NFL’s annual league meeting kicks off Sunday in Phoenix, but the answers may not come there either. Though team owners typically speak to the media at the event, Falcons owner Arthur Blank is not scheduled to do so and has no plans to comment on the Pearce situation, a spokesperson told The Athletic.
Pearce has been charged with felony aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, felony fleeing and eluding police, felony resisting an officer with violence and misdemeanor stalking following a Feb. 7 arrest stemming from an incident involving his former girlfriend, WNBA star Rickea Jackson, who has been granted an injunction for protection from Pearce after she told a Florida court she is concerned that “James will kill me.”
According to documents filed in the case, on Feb. 7, Pearce’s vehicle hit Jackson’s vehicle multiple times as he followed her in Doral, Fla., and he attempted to block her access to the police station before fleeing from police officers. Pearce spent one night in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and was released on a $20,500 bond.
Pearce has not spoken publicly about the case. His attorneys, Joshua Cohen, Jacob Nunez and Yale Sanford, released a statement at the time stating that Pearce “maintains his innocence and urges the public to understand that while allegations have the power to shape a narrative, that it is hardly the full, complete story.” Cohen did not return a text message, voicemail or email seeking comment on the case this week. Pearce’s agent, Tory Dandy, declined to comment on the case at the NFL combine in February.
Earlier this month, Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham called media reports about the case “concerning to say the least.”
“But outside of that … we are not going to comment on an open legal matter,” he said. Cunningham and coach Kevin Stefanski are scheduled to meet with the media in Phoenix next week.
On Feb. 9, Jackson filed a petition for an injunction for protection against dating violence with Pearce listed as the respondent, according to court documents.
Jackson’s comments in the report state, “James appears to have an underlying mental disorder, and he is violent. I am in fear of my life, and I believe, if this Court does not assist me with this issue, James will kill me.”
Jackson, who attended the University of Tennessee with Pearce and now plays for the Los Angeles Sparks, describes Pearce as her “ex-boyfriend.”
“I have been trying to end the relationship with James for the last three weeks, however, due to his obsessive, insecure, violent and aggressive behavior, ending the relationship has been difficult, and I am afraid for my life,” Jackson wrote in her statement.
According to Jackson’s petition, Pearce threatened to kill her, threatened to put a bag over her head and “verbally and physically abused” her on multiple occasions prior to the incident on Feb. 7. After an incident in which he “snatched” her cellphone away and pulled her hair, Jackson told Pearce she wanted to end the relationship, she stated in the document.
“James did not listen to my request and instead went on a never-ending campaign of threats, physical assaults and abuse against me,” she wrote.
At one point, Pearce offered Jackson $75,000 to meet with her and $200,000 to remain in a relationship with her, according to Jackson.
Pearce’s case has a status hearing scheduled for April 21 and a docket sounding scheduled for April 23. The sounding will be the final chance to reach a plea agreement in the case. If no plea deal is reached, the case will go to a trial, currently scheduled to start on May 4.
Pearce faces the possibility of jail time if he is found guilty, although predicting how much is difficult because of Florida sentencing calculation guidelines that account for a wide range of mitigating factors, such as whether the defendant expressed remorse or was not in a sound state of mind.
Under provisions of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the league could impose penalties on Pearce regardless of the outcome of his criminal case. The policy states that in cases of felony battery and dating violence, “a first violation will subject the violator to a baseline suspension without pay of six games, with possible upward or downward adjustments based on any aggravating or mitigating factors.” A second offense “will result in banishment from the NFL,” and the player can ask for reinstatement after one season, according to the policy.
Pearce’s situation “remains under review” by the NFL, according to a league representative. The terms of the personal conduct policy allow the league to conduct its own investigation independent of law enforcement. The league representative declined to say if it had opened its own investigation into Pearce. If the league does investigate and find credible evidence of similar behavior prior to this year’s incident, that could be considered an aggravating factor under the policy and result in more severe discipline.
The incident could also cost Pearce millions of dollars. The 22-year-old signed a four-year, $16.8 million rookie deal before last season, but NFL contracts often include language that voids future guarantees if a player is convicted of a serious crime or violates a morals clause. Pearce is due another $7 million in guaranteed salary over the next three years. Teams can also claw back a prorated portion of a player’s signing bonus for missed games.
The Falcons traded up to pick Pearce 26th in the 2025 NFL Draft in a deal that sent Atlanta’s 2026 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams. Pearce finished third in Defensive Rookie of the Year balloting after leading the Falcons and all rookies with 10.5 sacks.
Multiple teams had decided before the draft not to select Pearce because of unspecified off-field concerns, a league source told The Athletic at the time. The Falcons’ coach and general manager at the time, Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot, visited Pearce and his mother the night before the draft at their home in Charlotte “to talk about all the things that we knew and talk about all the things that he knew, and the things that we’re going to do moving forward,” Morris said.
“There’s always things that are reported, and there’s a perception on the outside, and then there is a whole different level based off the information we know,” Fontenot said last spring. “We have a really thorough process that we go through, and I believe our scouts. … (We) go through a security process, and we gather a lot of information on these players, and so we have a lot of confidence in our process.”
The last player to face a significant suspension from the league was Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Cameron Sutton, who was suspended without pay for the first eight games of the 2024 season after the league found him in violation of the personal conduct policy following an incident in which he was arrested on charges of domestic battery by strangulation. His original felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor before the league’s action, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
Sutton was a member of the Lions at the time of his incident, and Detroit released him after the original arrest warrant was issued.
In 2020, then-free agent Antonio Brown was suspended eight games for sending threatening text messages to a woman who had accused him of sexual misconduct. In 2017, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was suspended for six games after domestic violence allegations that did not lead to a criminal conviction. In 2016, New York Giants kicker Josh Brown was suspended for six games after admitting to domestic abuse.