James Pearce Jr. barely leaves the field as Jalon Walker misses Falcons' preseason loss

New York Times

5 days ago

ATLANTA — It's yet to be determined what type of role Atlanta Falcons rookie edge rusher James Pearce Jr. will have once the season begins, but he has been the busiest Falcon of this training camp.
Literally.
Pearce, the No. 26 pick out of the University of Tennessee, has taken 481 practice snaps this preseason, more than any player on the roster, general manager Terry Fontenot confirmed Friday night. And that workload has continued in both of Atlanta's preseason games, including Friday's 23-20 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, when Pearce barely came off the field.
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'He loves playing football,' coach Raheem Morris said. 'He's one of those guys that can do it. He's shown us he's in elite shape. He's shown us he's getting in better shape as we go. He's really dedicated himself to our performance team and the things we ask him to do. I couldn't be more pleased with the effort that he's given us.'
Pearce's heavy workload is the result of a combination of factors. As a promising rookie, he's taking practice snaps with the first- and second-team defenses, and he has also been one of the team's healthiest players throughout camp. Fellow edge rusher Jalon Walker, the 15th pick in the NFL Draft, missed a week of preseason practice because of a hamstring injury and missed Friday night's game with a groin injury suffered Wednesday during a joint practice with the Titans.
Morris described Walker's most recent injury as a 'tweak' and said he expects the rookie back on the practice field next week. Pearce, meanwhile, just keeps going and going and going. He started Friday night's game and was still playing inside the two-minute warning.
'He just doesn't seem to wear down or get as tired as you would think,' Morris said. 'In the second half, he had to go back out as the emergency rusher to help us get through the game. So he goes out and plays a bunch of snaps for us and looks great.'
Pearce, who did not speak to reporters after the game, was fourth on the team with four tackles and pressured Tennessee quarterback Brandon Allen before Allen threw an interception to Natrone Brooks.
Bringing the edge 😤
FOX | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/r1EfCnDbWx
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 16, 2025
'He's going to be a big factor for us this year,' edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie said. 'The faster he can come along, the better it is for the team.'
The addition of Pearce and Walker to the roster will make trimming the edge position for the opening-day roster a challenge. The Falcons kept four outside linebackers on their initial 53-man roster last season and also kept defensive lineman James Smith-Williams, who essentially served as an oversized edge.
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The first four spots at edge this year are locked up. Free-agent addition Leonard Floyd, the nine-year veteran who has had at least 8 1/2 sacks in each of the last five seasons, and Ebiketie, Atlanta's second-round pick in 2022 who is playing on the final year of his rookie deal, seem to be the starters based on the practice rotations during training camp. Pearce Jr. and Walker are next in line.
If the Falcons again keep four edge rushers on the 53-man, that would leave Bralen Trice and Khalid Kareem on the outside looking in, even though each has shown flashes in training camp. Trice was Atlanta's third-round pick in 2024 but missed all of his rookie season due to a knee injury suffered in training camp.
He saw his first live game action since that injury Friday night and had one tackle.
'It was great to watch him go set some edges and rush the passer,' Morris said. 'You're piecemealing him back, so you want to get him in some action with a certain snap count. I was really pleased to see Bralen getting back out there and getting acclimated again to playing live football with live tackling. That was the next big step for him.'
Kareem, a five-year veteran who was a fifth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020, was one of the team's most effective edge players against the run at some points during camp. Kareem did not dress for Friday night's game, which can be an indicator that a player has already secured a roster spot.
Fourth-year Falcon DeAngelo Malone was converted from edge to inside linebacker this offseason but played on the edge throughout the second half. He can provide emergency depth if he makes the roster as an inside linebacker and special teams stalwart.
'Terry's got some tough decisions; I'd hate to be him,' Morris joked after the game. 'But that's a good problem when you have a bunch of edge rushers that you really love and that go out there and play really hard. We'll make those decisions together like we always do.'
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