Sometimes players just want to go where they are wanted, and for Dante Fowler Jr., he was wanted by the Dallas Cowboys, not the Washington Commanders.
Last offseason, Fowler Jr. made the move to Washington as the Cowboys' blow-it-up plan was in full effect, and with the Commanders, Dante was a force, racking up 10.5 sacks (led team), 12 quarterback hits, and 14 tackles for loss (led team) in 17 games. Oh, and he only started in seven games, too.
Now, back with the Cowboys on a one-year, $6 million deal, ESPN's Seth Walder likes the move and has given Dallas a B grade for it.
"At first glance, you might say a team signing Fowler this offseason is paying for an outlier sack season," Walder writes. "The 30-year-old journeyman recorded 10.5 sacks with the Commanders in 2024, just the second double-digit sack season of his career. But Fowler is a better pass rusher on a down-to-down basis than one might think. But a one-year, $6 million commitment (with incentives up to $8 million) to fill a need? That seems fine. I would much rather bring Fowler back to Dallas for $6 million than, for example, sign Leonard Floyd for $10 million (what Atlanta paid)."
The money is good, yes, and for some, this is Dallas' best piece of business all offseason, and what is perhaps an underrated part of this signing is Fowler Jr. will be playing with a chip on his shoulder - as he has expressed anger at sitting on the shelf for as long as he did.
The Commanders didn't want him, or didn't want to pay what it was going to cost to keep him, and at just $6 million, that is really cheap for a player coming off a 10+ sack season.
Indeed, Mike Fisher of CowboysCountry.com is terming this a "steal in 2 ways.''
"One, you get a dynamic player who is a known commodity in this building,'' Fish says. "And two, you steal a weapon from an enemy. If this works out? It's a double-steal.''
In the end, the Cowboys were "proactive enough'' and managed to get Fowler back to The Star, and did it at a comfortable cost ... because, of course, right?
He looms as a possible key defensive piece for new coordinator Matt Eberflus as the Cowboys have had a defense-first theme in free agency.
He'll compete with young Sam Williams and others for snaps ... But as it sits now? Fowler Jr. might be the "stolen gem'' in Eberflus' crown.
