Veteran LB Antonio Pierce retired to start new career

Instead of putting on his former New York Giants uniform, unrestricted free agent linebacker Antonio Pierce was wearing his favorite Michael Irvin jersey when he announced that he was going to retire after spending nine years in the National Football League. He also promised that he would not disappear from the league as he had got a job from ESPN and will appear on NFL Live program from time to time.


Pierce had been with the Giants for five seasons since 2005 and used to be the team’s defensive captain and made great contribution to Giants’ Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots in 2008. However, he showed significant setback last season and played in only 9 regular season games, finishing the season with 55 tackles and only 1 sack. As a result, he was released by the Giants in early February.

Before joining the Giants, Pierce spent his first four NFL seasons with the Washington Redskins and established his fame of being an aggressive linebacker. His career numbers include 137 games, seven playoff games, 687 tackles, 9 sacks and seven interceptions.