Dallas Cowboys sign former Florida Gators defensive end

The Dallas Cowboys have signed defensive end Dante Fowler to a one-year deal, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota. He was the third overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Fowler tore his ACL on the first day of mini-camp that year, causing him to miss his entire rookie season. The Florida alumnus made his pro debut in 2016 and totaled 53 tackles and 12 sacks over the next two seasons. The Jaguars traded him to the Los Angeles Rams midway through the 2018 season in exchange for third and fifth round picks.

Fowler went on to play a big role for LA the rest of the season, even recording four tackles in a Super Bowl loss to the Patriots. The Rams signed him to a one-year, $14 million extension the following season. Fowler shined in his first full season with the Rams in 2019, finishing with career highs in both tackles (58) and sacks (11.5). That enabled him to sign a three-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons the following offseason. He totaled 7.5 sacks over the next two seasons before the team released him in February.

The defensive end is set to join a Dallas Cowboys team coming off of a 12-5 season in which they lost to San Francisco in the wild card round of the playoffs. There he will reunite for defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, whom he played for while at Florida. The Cowboys finished with 41 sacks as a team, which tied them with Arizona for 13th in the league. The addition of Fowler should help them improve on that number in 2022.

The Cowboys also re-signed defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Dorance Armstrong to multi-year deals. Additionally, they have linebacker Micah Parsons back after an incredible rookie season in which he posted 84 tackles (20 for loss), 13 sacks and three forced fumbles. With that in mind, the defense looks to come back even stronger heading into 2022.