{"id":46493,"date":"2026-08-15T10:35:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T05:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=46493"},"modified":"2026-08-15T10:35:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T05:35:34","slug":"nfl-suspends-falcons-james-pearce-jr-8-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=46493","title":{"rendered":"NFL suspends Falcons\u2019 James Pearce Jr. 8 games"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/14\/NFL-Suspensions_Football_378__s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/atlanta-falcons\/\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a> edge rusher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/james-pearce-jr\/\">James Pearce Jr.<\/a> will be suspended for the first eight games of the 2026 season for violating the league\u2019s personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Pearce was arrested in February following a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend and WNBA player, Rickea Jackson. The incident took place in Doral, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Pearce\u2019s charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing police and resisting arrest, and misdemeanor stalking could be dropped if he cooperates in a pretrial intervention program requiring random drug tests, distance from Jackson and staying out of legal trouble for one year.<\/p>\n<p>Pearce will be available to participate in preseason games and all team activities until the suspension takes effect on Sunday, Aug. 30 &#8211; ell<\/p>\n<p>The second-year defensive end can be reinstated on Monday, Nov. 2, following Atlanta\u2019s Week 8 road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons are set to play the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid, Spain, the following week.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcons\u2019 pass rush has taken a hit recently following Jalon Walker\u2019s season-ending ACL tear. The group is left with Christian Harris, JD Bertrand, Samson Ebukam, Kendal Daniels and Bralen Trice. The Falcons also added Cameron Sample after Walker\u2019s injury.<\/p>\n<p>Atlanta traded back to the No. 26 pick in the first round of the 2025 draft to select Pearce. The former Tennessee Volunteer has played a substantial role in transforming the Falcons\u2019 pass rush, leading the team with 10 1\/2 sacks during his rookie season.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<h3>Other suspensions<\/h3>\n<p>Pearce was one of four suspensions the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> handed out on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> also suspended Commanders edge rusher Dorance Armstrong, Tennessee Titans safety Nazeeh Johnson and Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis.<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong was suspended one game for violating the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL\u2019s<\/a> personal conduct policy. He will miss the Commanders season-opening game against Philadelphia on Sept. 13.<\/p>\n<p>Armstrong opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list, but has since been activated to resume practicing. He was limited to playing seven games last season before tearing a knee ligament.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s entering his ninth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> season, and third with Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson was suspended six games for violating the league\u2019s policy on performance-enhancers. Mathis was issued a three-game suspension for violating the league\u2019s substances of abuse policy.<\/p>\n<p>Under league rules, the players are allowed to practice and play with their respective teams through Aug. 30, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> teams are required to set their 53-player rosters.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson is eligible to return for the Titans\u2019 home game against Cleveland on Oct. 25. Mathis can return for Buffalo\u2019s home game against New England on Oct. 4.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson has three previous seasons of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> experience, all with the Kansas City Chiefs, and signed with the Titans on July 27, just before the opening of training camp.<\/p>\n<p>The 28-year-old had six starts in 29 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> games with the Chiefs since being selected by Kansas City in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. A shoulder injury limited Johnson to appearing in just two games last season. He also missed the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL in his right knee.<\/p>\n<p>The 28-year-old Mathis appeared in six games with the Bills last season. He spent his first three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> seasons appearing in 23 games with Washington.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<p>See AP\u2019s full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/nfl\/\">NFL<\/a> coverage here<\/p>\n<div class=\"permission\" style=\"padding-top: 25px;\">\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 The Washington Times, LLC.\n                        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. will be suspended for the first eight games of the 2026 season for violating the league\u2019s personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday. Pearce was arrested in February following a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend and WNBA player, Rickea Jackson. The incident took place in Doral, Florida. Pearce\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/14\/Falcons-Pearce_Football_97_55_c0-250-6000-3750_s1200x700.jpg?2cb823f519263a3e55a419724463fd44fb7f7c61","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}