No respect
OLB Dante Fowler Jr followed head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr to the Washington Commanders from the Dallas Cowboys last year, but he’s going back after not getting the deal he wanted here. Fowler is reportedly signing a 1-year deal with the Cowboys that’s worth up to $8 million. He had 10.5 sacks last season, and felt disrespected by the market he was getting. Fowler wasn’t signed in the initial wave of free agency, and now the former No. 3 overall pick plays on another prove it deal.
The Washington Commanders have been active in free agency, adding several players on defense. Fowler was the sack leader last year, and Washington will need to add another pass rusher in the draft, likely with one of their top two picks. They signed EDGE Jacob Martin, but his season-high sack total is four. Fowler was not effective against the run, and was becoming a liability with roughing the passer penalties last season.
Pass rusher Dante Fowler and the #Cowboys agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth up to $8 million, sources tell The Insiders. Fowler heads back to Dallas, on a deal negotiated by Sean Kiernan and Tom Povinelli of @AthletesFirst, after notching 10.5 sacks with the #Commanders in… pic.twitter.com/NzTThYN7Rx
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 14, 2025
| Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Tackles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | Pos | G | GS | Int | Yds | IntTD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | FRTD | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sfty | AV | Awards |
| 2016 | 22 | JAX | NFL | DE | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 32 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 23 | JAX | NFL | DE | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 1 | 8.0 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2018 | 24 | 2TM | NFL | DE | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 30 | 23 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2018 | 24 | JAX | NFL | DE | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 24 | LAR | NFL | ROLB | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 25 | LAR | NFL | LOLB | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 11.5 | 58 | 40 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 7 | |
| 2020 | 26 | ATL | NFL | RDE | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2021 | 27 | ATL | NFL | ROLB | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 | 36 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2022 | 28 | DAL | NFL | DE | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 29 | DAL | NFL | DE | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 30 | WAS | NFL | LB | 17 | 7 | 1 | 67 | 1 | 67 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 | 39 | 25 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 5 | |
| 9 Yrs | 142 | 47 | 1 | 67 | 1 | 67 | 20 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 79 | 2 | 55.5 | 279 | 192 | 87 | 70 | 87 | 0 | 34 | |||||
| 17 Game Avg | 17 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 67 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 6.6 | 33 | 23 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 4 | |||||
| JAX (3 Yrs) | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 53 | 1 | 14.0 | 62 | 49 | 13 | 14 | 22 | 0 | 6 | |||||
| DAL (2 Yrs) | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 40 | 30 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 4 | |||||
| ATL (2 Yrs) | 28 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 | 59 | 33 | 26 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 9 | |||||
| LAR (2 Yrs) | 24 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 1 | 13.5 | 79 | 55 | 24 | 20 | 21 | 0 | 10 | |||||
| WAS (1 Yr) | 17 | 7 | 1 | 67 | 1 | 67 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 | 39 | 25 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 5 | |||||