Falcons rookie James Pearce Jr. pulled from practice after altercation, chewed out by Raheem Morris

The Atlanta Falcons took a risk trading away their 2026 first-round NFL Draft pick back in April to move up for James Pearce Jr. Pearce is a game wrecker, but reported character concerns had some teams hesitant about him. Early on, Pearce has already been involved in his fair share of scuffles, including two in a single practice.

“Rookie James Pearce Jr. was the main character today. He set off two scrums on back-to-back plays — the first going at it with Ryan Neuzil and Matthew Bergeron (who had some words), and the second with Kaleb McGary,” wrote Adnan Ikic of The Falcoholic.

Pearce will be great at going after other teams, but right now it seems like he struggles to keep that aggression in check with his own teammates. AJC’s D. Orlando sees it as Pearce having the tenacity to get under the offensive line’s skin.

“Falcons James Pearce Jr. is a beast — not a Wasted Draft Pick! Pearce’s speed and tenacity got under the skin of the offensive linemen,” Ledbetter wrote.

Falcons free agent signing Leonard Floyd has taken Pearce under his wing, trying to help him cool off when needed.

“I try to bring him to the side and help him cool himself down before he gets real crazy with it," Floyd said, via atlantafalcons.com’s Tori McElhaney. "But he's a good guy, man. He works hard. The linemen just don't like it. But that's a good thing."

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On Monday, Pearce was back in the middle of a scuffle with another teammate. However, head coach Raheem Morris was tired of it this time.

“A scuffle at training camp. James Pearce Jr in the middle of it. Raheem Morris got in his face after. Looked like JPJ grabbed a face mask at some point. He was taken out of the next rep,” NBC Atlanta’s Maria Martin posted.

This adds another page to Pearce’s book of altercations with teammates. At the end of the day, it’s only practice, and he just has passion. However, if this happens in a game, it will be costly. Morris seems determined to get his temper under control, but only time will tell.