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James Pearce 'seems to have a chip on his shoulder' in Atlanta Falcons training camp

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey07/28/25GrantRamey
james pearce jr
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

seems to have a chip on his shoulder

James Pearce is bringing the fight early in Atlanta Falcons training camp. ESPN’s Marc Raimondi reported that the rookie edge rusher and former Tennessee Football star was involved in two skirmishes during practice Sunday afternoon.

ESPN reported Pearce first got into it with Falcons left guard Matthew Bergeron, then a play later was scrapping with right tackle Kaleb McGary. Defensive lineman Leonard Floyd reportedly came to Pearce’s defense on both plays. 

“We’re trying to develop a culture, a style of play for sure, and part of that is the violence with which we play and aggression, the urgency and all that,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said, according to ESPN. “Today, at times, it went a little too far and we’ve got to learn how to manage that.

‘He loves this game. He’s got deep love for his teammates’

“You’re going to get agitated and, especially when you’re playing really good defense, the offense is going to get very agitated, so you’ve got to anticipate punches being thrown, things being said, people getting pushed. In those moments, you got to thrive and not retaliate and so it’s a good lesson to be learned today.”

Atlanta traded back into the first round of the NFL Draft in April to take Pearce at No. 26 overall, after selecting Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker at No. 15.

Pearce had a breakout sophomore season at Tennessee in 2023, finishing with 10.0 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 28 sacks in 13 games. Last season he had 7.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in 13 games, finishing strong after having just 0.5 tackles for loss and no sacks through the first three games of the season. 

James Pearce signed four-year rookie contract in May

Over the last two years, Pearce combined for 17.5 sacks and 28 tackles for loss, with 66 tackles and one interception returned for a touchdown. He played in 39 games in three seasons with the Vols, recording 19.5 sacks, 30 tackles for loss and 71 tackles. 

Pearce signed his rookie contract with the Falcons on May 12. It’s a four-year deal worth $16.7 million, including an $8.8 million signing bonus, according to Spotrac.

ESPN reported Sunday that Pearce “has been playing extremely hard from the jump in practice and seems to have a chip on his shoulder” early in Falcons training camp. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“He’s prideful as it gets,” Ulbrich said in the ESPN report. “He loves this game. He’s got deep love for his teammates … and he wants to come out here and create a strong impression on everybody — and himself included — that he can do this. And you do this at a high level, and I think when you’re in that place of just every ounce of your body’s trying to prove who you are, sometimes it gets to that place where it can get a little wacky sometimes.

“His anger got the best of him a little bit and it is going to be a great learning experience for him.”

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