The Seattle Seahawks are signing veteran edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million, a source told the NFL Network on Tuesday.
Fowler, 31, addresses the Super Bowl champions' last remaining need. They lost Boye Mafe in free agency and had yet to sign anyone to replace him, nor did they take an edge rusher with any of their eight selections in last month's NFL draft.
Fowler made a free agent visit with Seattle before the draft. As of the Monday after the draft, free agent signings no longer count against their new team's formula for compensatory picks in 2027; OverTheCap.com projects the Seahawks to receive four.
Mafe played over 550 snaps last season as part of Seattle's four-man rotation at outside linebacker along with DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall. The Seahawks had one of the NFL's youngest rosters last season despite a veteran defensive front. That group now has five players who are 29 or older: Fowler, Lawrence (34), Nwosu (29), Jarran Reed (33) and Leonard Williams (31).
Drafted third by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015, Fowler missed his rookie season with a torn ACL. In 10 seasons since then, he has recorded 58.5 sacks, including a career-high 11.5 in 2019 with the Los Angeles Rams and 10.5 in 2024 with the Washington Commanders.
Fowler spent last season with the Dallas Cowboys, the team he previously played for in 2022 and '23. Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde was the Cowboys' defensive line coach during Fowler's first stint in Dallas. They were previously together in 2020 with the Atlanta Falcons, when Durde was the team's outside linebackers coach.
Fowler started 11 of 17 games for Dallas last season, finishing with just three sacks on the year, his fewest since 2020. He played on just 359 of 1,107 snaps, and his playing time dropped in the final month, topping 15 snaps in just one game. He was credited with 15 tackles, four tackles for loss, 39 pressures and three pass breakups.
Fowler has not missed a game since 2021. Over 159 career games, he has 74 tackles for loss, 97 quarterback hits and 15 forced fumbles.
ESPN's Todd Archer contributed to this report.
