The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks have made it clear that they will be looking to add to their pass rushing depth this offseason.
Per the official transaction wire, veteran edge rusher Dante Fowler visited the Seahawks. Fowler was most recently with the Dallas Cowboys for a second time, playing in all regular season games and recording three sacks in a rotational role.
Fowler was drafted third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars back in the 2015 NFL Draft, staying local as a former Florida Gator.
An ACL tear during rookie mini-camp ended his season in an instant, and while he was a key part of Jacksonville’s elite 2017 defense that propelled an unlikely AFC Championship Game run, he was still dealt to the Los Angeles Rams midway through 2018. His career-high 11.5 sacks came with the Rams in 2019, after which he joined Dan Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons on a sizeable $16 million/year free agent contract. Fowler followed Quinn to Dallas in 2022, recording six sacks in his first season with the Cowboys.
After his first Cowboys stint, Fowler signed a one-year deal with the Washington Commanders in 2024, reuniting with Dan Quinn and posting 10.5 sacks en route to the NFC Championship Game. Fowler’s return to the Cowboys was on a one-year, $6 million contract.
While the 31-year-old Fowler has spent a lot of his years playing in former Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s defenses, he also has familiarity with current Seahawks DC Aden Durde, who was on Quinn’s Falcons staff from 2018-2020 before becoming Cowboys defensive line coach from 2021-2023.
Seattle did not retain Boye Mafe in free agency, whereas Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall are entering the final years of their respective contracts. Whether through the free agent market, the draft, or even a trade, the short- and long-term expectation is that the Seahawks will want more depth at outside linebacker.
For anyone concerned about comp picks, there is no rush to sign Fowler. Any player signed from Apr. 28 onward will not count against teams in the compensatory pick formula, which means the Seahawks should have the maximum four comp picks heading into next year’s draft.
