Is Bernard Pierce Worth an NFL Roster Spot After Arrest, Release from Ravens?

After enduring the fallout from the Ray Rice fiasco last year, the Baltimore Ravens have adopted a new hard-line stance. Run afoul of the law, and your spot on the team is in serious jeopardy.

Running back Bernard Pierce found this out the hard way on Wednesday, and after two straight bad seasons, a DUI arrest and Pierce's release by the Ravens, a sobering question has emerged.

Did Pierce squander even more than his roster spot in Charm City? At just 23 years old, is Pierce's NFL career all but over?

As ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley reports, Pierce knew the writing was on the wall even as he was being taken to jail following his arrest early Wednesday morning:

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(Pierce) is charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol, driving while impaired by alcohol, exceeding maximum speed (55 mph in a posted 30 mph zone) and driving a vehicle in excess of reasonable and prudent speed on a highway.

According to charging documents, Pierce told the arresting officer while en route to the precinct following his arrest: "Do you know what happened the last time a Ravens player got a DUI? I'm getting cut tomorrow, not like you care."

Pierce also asked if "the incident could be kept off the books."

According to the charging documents, Pierce passed out sitting on a metal bench during the booking process, and when the arresting officer woke him up to ask how much he weighed, he replied in slurred speech, "530." Pierce weighs 230 pounds.

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Pierce is the ninth Ravens player to be arrested since Valentine's Day 2014, and sure enough general manager Ozzie Newsome wasted no time in handing Pierce his walking papers.

Given the alarming number of arrests that have plagued the Ravens over the past 13 months, it's not at all surprising that Newsome would be taking this tough stance about off-the-field issues. Of course, it's a lot easier to be a hard-liner when the players you're cutting loose are essentially scrubs.

And make no mistake—the past couple of years, Pierce has been a scrub.

Year	G	Att.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec.	Yards	TD
2012	16	108	532	4.9	1	7	47	0
2013	16	152	436	2.9	2	20	104	0
2014	13	93	366	3.9	2	2	13	0

The former Temple star made a pretty big splash as a rookie. Functioning as a change-of-pace and short-yardage back behind Rice, Pierce averaged almost five yards a carry. The 6'0", 230-pounder appeared on his way to becoming Rice's heir apparent in the Baltimore backfield.

Then the bottom fell out.

Like Rice, Pierce's 2013 season was a disaster. He played in all 16 games and carried the ball a career-high 152 times, but Pierce's yards per carry free-fell to a paltry 2.9 yards a pop.

2014 dawned with Rice suspended (and then released), opening the door for Pierce to redeem himself and take the reins as the Ravens' lead back. At the time, pundits such as Matt Lutovsky of Sporting News were predicting a rebound season for Pierce in 2014:

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Working in Pierce's favor is new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, who reportedly plans to install a run-based offense. Kubiak's Houston teams were tied for 11th in rushes per game during his eight-year tenure, with that number jumping to fourth per game over the past three seasons. Pierce will get plenty of chances.

Ultimately, there's more to like about Pierce than not to like. Baltimore lacks any proven options behind him (Justin Forsett? Cierre Wood? Fitzgerald Toussaint?), so it's his job to lose. With Rice showing major signs of decline last year, Pierce could keep the starting gig all season.

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Instead, it was Justin Forsett who exploded for more than 1,200 yards on the ground, while Pierce carried the ball a career-low 93 times. For the second straight season, Pierce failed to average even four yards a carry.

In other words, it wasn't exactly a difficult decision for Newsome to make.

Pierce also picked just about the worst possible time to go and get himself released.

Even after players like DeMarco Murray, C.J. Spiller, Ryan Mathews, Frank Gore and Reggie Bush found new homes, the running back market remains a crowded one. Not only are a number of backs available, from Stevan Ridley to Steven Jackson, but many of the teams who were looking to add a running back have already done so.

Yes, Pierce is one of the younger backs available, but it isn't like his resume over the past two years screams "potential."

Add in off-the-field headaches, and the line to kick the tires on Pierce isn't going to be a long one.

At the end of the day, Pierce's age and the promise he showed as a rookie might be enough for a team looking to add depth in the backfield to take a flier on him.

At the minimum salary for a three-year veteran.

With no guaranteed money.

And no margin for error.

And no guarantee that he'll even make the 53-man roster.

It's certainly not the second NFL contract Pierce was hoping for, but in that respect he has no one to blame but himself.

And he may well be lucky to even get that.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPManor.