After a head-scratching stint with the Kansas City Chiefs, Dameon Pierce is undoubtedly searching for far more clarity in his next post. After the first week of free agency, he's placed his hopes in the Philadelphia Eagles.
According to Eagles reporter Jeff McLane, the Eagles have signed the veteran running back to a one-year deal.
Pierce arrived in the NFL with the kind of rookie year that thrills a fan base (and fantasy football players). A fourth-round pick out of Florida by the Texans in 2022, Pierce rushed for 939 yards and 4 touchdowns on 220 carries in 13 games. He looked the part of the lead back and finished ninth in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Dameon Pierce is hoping for a much healthier stop, in all aspects, with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Things shifted dramatically the following season. The Texans brought in Devin Singletary, trimming Pierce's workload roughly in half. Then they signed Joe Mixon before the 2024 campaign, pushing Pierce further down the depth chart. By '25, with Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks ahead of him, Pierce barely registered on Houston's radar, with just 10 carries for 26 yards across 4 games, mostly as a garbage-time option and kick returner. He had played just 23 offensive snaps for the Texans when they waived him in November.
Pierce's story takes an intriguing turn—and ultimately, a rather weird one—after his release. When Pierce hit the open market, several teams lined up, as the Bears, Broncos, Chargers, Eagles, Colts, Bengals, and Dolphins all expressed interest. Pierce chose Kansas City instead, a 6-5 team fighting for a playoff spot and an offense in need of a spark.
From there, it's hard to understand exactly what happened between Pierce and the Chiefs. Despite being on the roster for more than a month, Pierce would go on to sit as a healthy scratch for most games. He wouldn't see the field until the final week of the season, when he had 4 carries on 5 snaps for 10 rushing yards to close the year. It was a repeat of the story with Elijah Mitchell over the course of the season, leading fans to question about what was happening at running back.
With some further distance from any injury issues and from the Chiefs' dysfunctional approach to the ground game, Pierce has good reason to hope this next stop in Philly is a much healthier one all around.