The NFL has announced that Atlanta Falcons’ James Pearce Jr., a prominent edge rusher, will face an eight-game suspension in the upcoming 2026 season due to a breach of the league’s personal conduct regulations. This disciplinary action stems from an incident in February involving Pearce’s ex-girlfriend, WNBA player Rickea Jackson, resulting in his arrest in Doral, Fla.
Pending his cooperation in a pretrial intervention program, which includes compliance with random drug testing, maintaining distance from Jackson, and steering clear of legal issues for a year, the charges against Pearce for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing police, resisting arrest, and misdemeanor stalking may be dropped.
Although Pearce will be permitted to participate in preseason games and team activities until the suspension commences on August 30, he is expected to be eligible for reinstatement on November 2 following the Falcons’ Week 8 clash against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, just before facing the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid, Spain.
In light of Jalon Walker’s season-ending ACL injury, the Falcons’ pass rush unit has been impacted, leaving them with defensive players such as Christian Harris, JD Bertrand, Samson Ebukam, Kendal Daniels, and Bralen Trice. Cameron Sample was also added to the team following Walker’s injury.
Aside from Pearce, the NFL announced suspensions for three other players on the same day. Dorance Armstrong of the Commanders received a one-game suspension for a personal conduct policy violation, Nazeeh Johnson from the Titans faced a six-game suspension for performance-enhancer policy infringement, and Phidarian Mathis from the Buffalo Bills was issued a three-game suspension for breaching the substances of abuse policy.
Both Johnson and Mathis are expected to be eligible to return to their respective teams for designated games in October after sitting out during the initial weeks of the season. Johnson, with previous experience with the Kansas City Chiefs, joined the Titans just before the start of training camp. Mathis, on the other hand, played for the Bills last season after spending his initial NFL seasons with Washington.