ATLANTA – James Pearce Jr. is on track to avoid jail time for the felony charges he faced stemming from a domestic violence incident earlier this year.

But Pearce still received a punishment from the NFL on Friday, and his eight-game suspension counts as another blow for the Atlanta Falcons.

Earlier this month, the Falcons lost linebacker Jalon Walker for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. Walker, like Pearce, was a first-round pick last year.

Sure, they expected a suspension was coming for Pearce, the edge rusher who led the team with 10½ sacks in 2025. Pearce, 22, is entered in a six-month diversion program that could wipe multiple felony charges – aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police, resisting an officer with violence – related to a matter in South Florida in February that involved his ex-girlfriend, Chicago Sky forward Rickea Jackson.

Yet until the league issued its verdict, it was unclear exactly how much time Pearce would miss. Now the Falcons know.

“Not going to comment on the length of the suspension or those types of things,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said following a 27-7 loss against the Denver Broncos in their preseason opener. “We trust the process that is in place. James continues to do everything in his power to be a great teammate and work very hard on himself, inside and outside the building.

“Obviously, we were anticipating a suspension, so we’ve been intentional about how we planned it.”

The suspension takes effect on Aug. 30, which allowed Pearce to play on Friday night and the remainder of the preseason and work in training camp.

In other words, play now and sit when the games matter.

“So, he’ll continue to work and continue to play in these games and then when the suspension takes place, he’ll be away from the building,” Stefanski said. “We’ll have a plan and he’ll have a plan as well. But just keep our head down and continue to work.”

There is no shortage of challenges for the Falcons to begin Stefanski’s first season. In addition to filling the roles of the two players the team invested so heavily in last year to build the defense with, the competition for the starting quarterback job has been slowed by Michael Penix Jr.’s recovery from a torn ACL.

Tua Tagovailoa, positioned to challenge for Penix’s job, began camp nursing a back injury and didn’t help himself with a sluggish performance on Friday. And third-stringer Cooper Rush was even worse, throwing two picks – including one returned 97 yards for a touchdown.

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