The Baltimore Ravenspulled defensive tackle Michael Pierce off the practice field Tuesday due to conditioning issues, and kept him off the field again Wednesday.
Defensive coordinator Don Martindale said he was disappointed in the shape in which Pierce showed up to mandatory minicamp after skipping previous offseason workouts.
"Of course you're disappointed," Martindale said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN. "What I said to him, I said it in front of the whole defense: Life is about choices. Just don't make that choice make your life."
Pierce, a restricted free agent, reportedly showed up to minicamp looking well over his listed weight of 340 pounds. After taking Pierce to task in front of his teammates, Martindale didn't want to add more fuel on Wednesday, believing the 26-year-old got the message.
"We piled on enough yesterday," he said. "Let's don't forget what a great football player he is. He'll get back there. I can't tell you when, but he'll get back there."
An undrafted free agent signing in 2016, Pierce impressed through his first three seasons, and is one of the top run-stuffing defensive tackles in the league as a rotational player. Entering a pivotal season, the Ravens will need Pierce to slim down over the next six weeks leading up to training camp in late July. Otherwise, the defensive tackle risks seeing his non-guaranteed $3 million salary wiped away.