Everything you need to know on the arrest of James Pearce Jr.

Despite not even sniffing an opportunity to play on Super Bowl Sunday, the Falcons somehow came away as arguably the biggest loser of the unofficial holiday, as it was revealed Sunday morning that star rookie pass rusher James Pearce Jr. had been arrested for a number of serious criminal acts.

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• Two counts aggravated battery with a deadly weapon
• Aggravated stalking
• Fleeing/Eluding the police

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NEW: NFL first-round pick James Pearce Jr. arrested for battery and stalking of his WNBA star girlfriend after police chase and crash

NFL rookie James Pearce Jr., 22, was arrested in Miami after a dispute with his WNBA player girlfriend Rickea Jackson

Police say he fled the… pic.twitter.com/prNlI0gR6V

— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) February 8, 2026

The video does not look good for Pearce, and the entire story is just as damning based on the reports so far.

It reportedly began with a domestic dispute involving an ex-girlfriend, WNBA player Rickea Jackson. Jackson is said to have ended their three-year relationship and blocked Pearce’s number. According to reports, Pearce then continued trying to contact her from another phone despite multiple attempts by Jackson to cut off communication.

That allegedly led to Saturday’s incident, when Pearce is reported to have followed Jackson in his vehicle and attempted to break into her car. When Jackson fled to a police station, Pearce allegedly crashed his car into hers.

To make matters worse, Pearce then allegedly tried to flee the scene and reportedly struck a police officer with his car while attempting to avoid arrest. Police pursued him until he crashed at an intersection, where he was ultimately arrested, though reports say he continued to resist.

“We look forward to working with the State Attorney’s Office in fully investigating this case and uncovering the truth,” Pearce’s legal team Jacob Nunez, Yale Sanford and Joshua Cohen said in a statement, via Marc Raimondi of ESPN. “Mr. Pearce maintains his innocence and urges the public to understand that while allegations have the power to shape a narrative, that it is hardly the full, complete story. We look forward to vigorously defending our Client and remain confident that he will continue contributing positively to both his team and the community he serves so well.”

The Falcons also released a statement saying they are gathering more information about the situation before making any further comments.

James Pearce Jr. did not enter the league without his fair share of red flags. In fact, he was off a lot of teams’ draft boards despite his immense talent, which at one point had him pegged as a top-five pick during the draft process.

The Falcons, led by Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot, decided to look past those red flags. They felt the homework they had done on Pearce was enough to justify trading a 2026 first-round pick to move back into the first round and select the former Tennessee Volunteer.

From an on-field perspective, they were right. Pearce has all the tools to become one of the best pass rushers in the league. His 10.5 sacks as a rookie were the most by a first-year player since Micah Parsons, and he only got stronger as the season went on, with 10 of those sacks coming over the final nine games.

Atlanta finally thought it had found the answer to the single biggest issue the organization has faced over the last two decades, and now there are serious questions about whether he will ever put on a Falcons uniform again.

There are countless examples where teams — and even the league — have allowed talent to outweigh character concerns. Pearce has a skill set every team covets, so acting as if him playing again is impossible would be unrealistic. But based on what has been reported so far, he will have a lot of hurdles to clear to get back in the good graces of both the Falcons and the league.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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