JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars' decision to claim running back Bernard Pierce off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday afternoon is a low-risk, potentially-solid reward move -- from a football standpoint, anyway.
Since Maurice Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing in 2011, the Jaguars have had one of the NFL's worst ground games. They've averaged 88.8 yards per game -- worse than every team but Atlanta (86.3) and Arizona (84.2). The 2014 season was by far the best of the three, but the Jaguars still finished 21st in the NFL at 102.1 yards per game.
Toby Gerhart, signed last March to a three-year, $10.5 million contract, struggled because of ankle and rib injuries. Denard Robinson ended up leading the Jaguars in rushing (582 yards), but he missed the final three games with a foot injury. The offensive line, which started two rookies and a second-year left tackle coming off a fractured ankle, struggled to consistently open holes, as well.
Pierce will be given a chance to compete for playing time with Gerhart, Robinson, 2014 seventh-round pick Storm Johnson, and whichever back the Jaguars take in the draft. Much like the Jaguars, he's had success in the past but has struggled since.
The 23-year-old Pierce had his best had his best season with the Ravens as a rookie in 2012, when he rushed for 532 yards to help the team win the Super Bowl. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry during the regular season and topped that in the playoffs, averaging 5.2 yards in four games. He ran for 202 yards on 39 carries, including 103 yards in a Wildcard victory over Indianapolis.
Since then, however, Pierce has struggled because of inconsistency and a long list of injuries: back, ankle, knee, shoulder, thigh, toe, and concussion. He averaged just 2.9 yards per carry in 2013, but all of the Ravens' backs did behind an offensive line that played poorly. He was slightly better in 2014 -- 3.9 yards per carry -- but had a career-low 93 attempts. With Ray Rice suspended, Pierce was supposed to split carries with Justin Forsett and rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro, but he was benched for fumbling in the season opener and Forsett became the Ravens' feature back.
The Ravens cut Pierce on Wednesday, just hours after he was arrested for DUI, but it didn't appear that he was going to be in the team's plans in 2015 anyway, as ESPN Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley noted.
Pierce obviously has some ability and he has a chance to be part of a three-man rotation in Jacksonville, especially if the team uses Gerhart as more of an H-back than a true tailback. Plus, the Jaguars will only have to pay him $660,000, which is what he is scheduled to make in the final season of his four-year rookie contract.
Pierce faces a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy with his DUI arrest, which the Jaguars were certainly aware of when they claimed him. General manager David Caldwell has been open about the Jaguars' approach to signing players with issues, saying it's unrealistic to comprise a team entirely of choirboys.
He recently addressed the issue when asked about potentially signing pass-rusher Greg Hardy, who had been convicted of assaulting or threatening an ex-girlfriend.
"... You know our philosophy here," Caldwell said. "We feel like if a player shows remorse, is trying to get better, it’s not our job to judge. We are going to try to help anybody, not only on the field, but off the field. If they can be productive in our culture, if they can be productive in our community … Like I said all of us have made mistakes some probably a lot more than others. I am probably in that category, too. We just take it case by case and see where it’s at."
The Jaguars are giving Pierce a second chance after his career went downhill in Baltimore. It's a low-risk move that won't hurt if it doesn't work out.