Falcons' Pearce suspended 8 games after arrest
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- James Pearce Jr. received an 8-game NFL suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy following his February arrest on domestic violence charges; the suspension begins Aug. 30 and he is eligible for reinstatement Nov. 2.
- Pearce did not appeal the suspension, which is final, per NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy; he remains eligible for all preseason activities including games.
- Pearce allegedly used a vehicle to repeatedly ram into a car driven by ex-girlfriend and WNBA player Rickea Jackson on Feb. 7 in Doral, Florida, in an alleged effort to stop her reaching a police station during a domestic dispute, then fled on foot after crashing.
- Pearce faced felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing police, and resisting arrest, plus misdemeanor stalking; in May he entered a pretrial intervention program that could drop the charges if he stays out of legal trouble for one year.
- Rickea Jackson filed a protective order petition in February stating she was "in fear of my life" and believed "James will kill me"; she later dropped the petition in lieu of the intervention program.
- Pearce, the No. 26 pick in 2025, set a Falcons rookie record with 10.5 sacks and finished third in AP Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, but has mostly worked with the reserves during this training camp.
Why it matters: Pearce loses eight games of his sophomore season — a critical development window for a pass rusher coming off a 10.5-sack rookie campaign — while the NFL delivers a full suspension without a conviction. Jackson's dropped protective order, filed with the words "James will kill me," shows how the case resolved pretrial rather than at trial.
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