Training camp in Flowery Branch took a turn Sunday when several scuffles broke out between the Falcons’ offense and defense during live drills.
One series, including the Falcons’ first-team offense going up against the second-team defense, saw rookie edge rusher James Pearce and guard Matthew Bergeron, whose helmet was knocked off, engage in the extracurriculars, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.
The back and forth metastasized into multiple players across both units, shoving each other.
Notably, fellow edge rusher Leonard Floyd stepped in on behalf of Pierce.
Moments later, Pearce squared off with right tackle Kaleb McGary, leading to a second heated exchange, again requiring mediation.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich later addressed the incidents, calling them a learning opportunity:
“We’re trying to develop a culture, a style of play for sure, and part of that is the violence with which we play and aggression, the urgency and all that,” the former interim Jets coach said. “Today, at times, it went a little too far and we’ve got to learn how to manage that.
“You’re going to get agitated and, especially when you’re playing really good defense, the offense is going to get very agitated, so you’ve got to anticipate punches being thrown, things being said, people getting pushed. In those moments, you got to thrive and not retaliate and so it’s a good lesson to be learned today.”
On Pearce specifically, he added that this was all good-natured, while adding that there’s a line.
“He’s prideful as it gets,” Ulbrich said. “He loves this game. He’s got deep love for his teammates … and he wants to come out here and create a strong impression on everybody — and himself included — that he can do this.
“And you do this at a high level, and I think when you’re in that place of just every ounce of your body’s trying to prove who you are, sometimes it gets to that place where it can get a little wacky sometimes. His anger got the best of him a little bit and it is going to be a great learning experience for him.”
He added that while physical competitiveness is encouraged, abandoning discipline crosses a line.
Ulbrich praised how Floyd stepped in and noted that Pearce responded well afterward, batting down a pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins and earning a compliment from Cousins later in practice.
Offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford also discussed the camp intensity afterward.
“Yeah, we had a couple of crashes today,” Ledford said. “But the thing about these guys — I know this, I know how our locker room, the culture that we have here in this locker room — those guys, they’re going to shake it up. They know they got to get to work together and it’s going to take both of us. It’s kind of like what we said, man, if both sides of the ball are playing hard like that, it’s just going to make us on both sides that much better.”
Atlanta concluded the 2024 season with an 8–9 record under head coach Raheem Morris, narrowly missing the playoffs for a seventh straight year.
Despite a strong 6–3 start, their momentum collapsed with losses in six of their final eight games—prompting a switch at quarterback that saw rookie Michael Penix Jr. take over late in the season.
Offensively, Pro Bowl running back Bijan Robinson carried the Falcons with a team-leading 1,456 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, while wide receiver Drake London tallied 1,271 receiving yards and nine TDs.
Robinson also had 431 receiving yards on 61 catches with an additional TD through the air.
Their defense struggled, yielding 24.9 points per game, ranking near the bottom in the league.
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