Jets swap running backs, sign Pierce, release Stacy

Pierce ran for just 11 yards on six carries in seven games last season with Jacksonville (Nick Wass/AP)

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets have signed running back Bernard Pierce and waived running back Zac Stacy, who failed his physical after missing the last half of last season with a broken left ankle.

The team announced the moves Wednesday, a day before it holds its first practice of training camp.

Pierce ran for just 11 yards on six carries in seven games last season with Jacksonville after spending his first three NFL seasons with Baltimore. He ran for a career-best 532 yards as a rookie with the Ravens in 2012 after being a third-round pick out of Temple.

Pierce was released by Baltimore in March 2015, when he was charged with drunken driving. He was claimed off waivers by Jacksonville the next day.

The NFL announced in May that Pierce will be suspended for the first two games of this season, likely stemming from the DUI arrest.

Stacy ran for 89 yards in eight games for the Jets last season, but he was lost for the rest of the season in November when he broke his ankle on a kickoff return.

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