James Pearce Jr. will play in the preseason before his eight-game suspension starts

Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski addressed linebacker James Pearce’s suspension on Monday.

Pearce will miss eight regular-season games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. He was arrested in February following a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend.

Pearce agreed to a pre-trial intervention program to avoid a trial on multiple felony charges. He will have charges dropped if he completes the six-month program, which includes therapy sessions.

“I would tell you I’m very comfortable in us sticking to this process, including what the league is doing in this case, and I’ll make sure that we’re in total compliance with those types of things,” Stefanski said, via video from Luke Hetrick of WSB-TV. “I think James, for his part on this football team, has done everything that I’ve asked him to do, everything that coaches have asked him to do, and we’ll just continue to follow the protocols.”

Pearce is allowed to practice and play in preseason games, with his suspension starting Aug. 30.

Stefanski said Pearce will play in the preseason.

“Really just continue to work, to do his job every single day, which he’s doing,” Stefanski said. “We’ll continue to get him understanding of this scheme and getting better on the grass. Then, play him in these games, let him get those game reps under his belt. Then, we’ll deal with the future when it comes.”