Atlanta Falcons Practice Interruppted By Several Fights Involving Rookie

Atlanta Falcons fans will either love or hate that physical fights are disrupting their early practices ahead of the NFL season. On Sunday, a number of skirmishes broke out at Falcons training camp in Flowery Branch (Ga.); two of those dust-ups involved rookie edge rusher James Pearce, Jr.

The 245-lb. linebacker, standing at 6-foot-5, went at it with members of the O-line as quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. ran the offense. Pearce tangled up with left guard Matthew Bergeron and right tackle Kaleb McGary on separate occasions, prompting members of the defense like Leonard Floyd to jump in and grow the scrum.

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - JULY 26: Atlanta Falcons linebacker James Pearce Jr. #27 catches a football during Atlanta Falcons training camp on July 26, 2025 at IBM Performance Field in Flowery Branch, GA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Pearce, Jr.'s fiery passion, while valuable as a spark for the unit, defied coach Raheem Morris' no-fight order. Earlier in the week, the Falcons head coach called for no fights at practice. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich dubbed the fights at practice as passionate play but said they went too far.

"We're trying to develop a culture, a style of play, for sure," Ulbrich commented (via atlantafalcons.com). 

"Part of that is the violence in which we play – aggression, urgency and all that. Today, at times, it went a little too far. We got to learn how to manage that. You're going to get agitated, especially when you're playing really good defense, the offense is going to get very agitated. So, you got to anticipate punches being thrown, things being said, people being pushed. In those moments, you got to thrive, not retaliate. It's a good lesson to be learned today."

He added,  "I think celebrating the guys that take it right there and push it as far as that violence and urgency and intensity, but don't go past the line," Ulbrich said. "Don't throw the punch. Don't retaliate. The more we can take it there and not retaliate and celebrate it, I think that's when you create that style of play."

Pierce was the 26th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, coming off a strong season at Tennessee. He may seem like a total brute after his Sunday battles, but the rookie showed a different kind of heart on Saturday by signing autographs for fans at practice.

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA - JULY 27: Atlanta Falcons linebacker James Pearce Jr. #27 signs autographs for fans after Atlanta Falcons training camp on July 27, 2025 at IBM Performance Field in Flowery Branch, GA. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Falcons wideout Ray-Ray McCloud commented on the fight between the "big boys."

"I laugh only because when it happened, I told the DBs, 'As long as y'all don't jump in, y'all good. We'll spare y'all. Just don't jump in.'" McCloud said. "Other than that, we let the big boys tussle it out."

The Falcons open up the season on Sept. 7 with a Week 1 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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