Pierce a piece at point of attack
The way Tom Brady has dominated the free agency news cycle, it’s almost hard to remember the Patriots will be pursuing other players.
That’s why we’re here.
Each day leading up to the NFL’s legal free-agent tampering period, which begins Monday, the Herald will unveil one of 10 potential Patriot targets on the open market. The Pats rank in the bottom half of the league in available cap space, so high-profile free agents like Cowboys wideout Amari Cooper will be omitted from the list. But the Patriots usually hunt in the bargain bin anyways, so that’s where we’ll dig.
Some names you’ll recognize, others you won’t. All, however, deserve to be remembered come Monday. Because all could be potential Patriots.
Ravens DT Michael Pierce
Ht/Wt: 6-0, 340
Age: 27
2019 stats: 0.5 sack, 35 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
Projected contract: 3 years, $15 million
Why he’s a fit: Michael Pierce will likely never make a Pro Bowl.
He’ll never earn many sacks.
He’ll never become a household name.
Nonetheless, Pierce could absolutely start at the heart of a league-leading defense. For the Patriots, who owned the top-ranked defense in the NFL last year, signing the hulking nose tackle could help them stay at the top.
Pierce finished as a top-12 defensive tackle in two of the past three seasons, per Pro Football Focus. He’s unquestionably the best run stuffer on the market.
Despite a relative down year in 2019, the larger story of Pierce’s career is one of an elite elite centerpiece for odd front or 3-4 defenses.
New England makes a ton of sense for him.
The Pats must beef up the interior of their defense this offseason, especially if Danny Shelton departs. Because while Derrick Henry was not the Pats’ primary problem in last January’s Wild Card loss to Tennessee — failing to score more than one touchdown was — the way Henry mowed their defense down repeatedly kept the game in the Titans’ hands. And in addition to Shelton’s run defense — which was plenty serviceable — he rated as the team’s most effective per-snap pass rusher.
Pierce is a perfect twodown piece who can complement another former Raven, Lawrence Guy, in the middle. If he does his job on first and second down, he’ll allow the Patriots to deploy all their best pass rushers on third, where no defense was better in 2019. Occasionally, Pierce will get his as a pass rusher, too.
Against the Patriots last season, Pierce hurried Tom Brady twice and hit him once during what proved to be the Pats’ best pass-protecting performance of the year.
The only concern with Pierce is his weight. Last June, he showed up to Baltimore’s minicamp at north of 400 pounds and was sent off the field. However, he promptly dropped the necessary weight and passed the team’s conditioning test at the start of training camp.
A year ago, the Pats signed defensive tackle Mike Pennel to a two-year deal worth up to $8 million in what was expected to be one of their best free-agent signings.
Pennel didn’t pan out, but Pierce isn’t expected to command much more and offers a far higher ceiling. With the Ravens strapped for cash and married to another nose tackle in Brandon Williams, who will make almost $10 million next season, Pierce should be out the door.
It may have been a tough year for Pierce and Patriots defensive tackles in 2019. But together, they should fix that in 2020.