Cowboys OFFICIAL: DE Dante Fowler - and DE Takk McKinley - Re-Sign With Dallas
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FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys and Dante Fowler Jr. thought they were near "the finish line'' on a new contract a week ago.
On Monday, they got there.
Fowler, the free agent pass rusher with a deep connection to Dallas defensive coordinator, is re-signing with the Cowboys on a one-year deal, sources tell Jordan Schultz at @theScore.
Fowler officially signed on Wednesday as did fellow end Takkarist McKinley, another “name” player working to build his career here. Takk was signed to a one-year contract. He spent end of last season on the practice squad.
Both have ties with the Falcons, where Dan Quinn was once the head coach. … and both were once first-round picks.
Fowler has played at a "star level'' at different points in his career but came to Dallas in 2022 as a reclamation projects of sorts ....
And it worked.
As a key reserve in a rotational role, Fowler recorded six sacks for Quinn’s often dominant unit last season.
Last week, CBS Sports' Josina Anderson wrote that the two sides shared a mutual interest to close a deal, with the Cowboys apparently indicating they "want him back'' and Fowler feeling "he wants to be back.'' and have been working hard to get a deal done.
Fowler, 28, signed a one-year "prove it" deal with Dallas in the 2022 offseason that was seen as a potential bargain as it was worth just $3 million. In the end, it was a fine third-tier signing for Dallas as he was a top of the rotation piece of a playoff defense.
Those six sacks placed him in a tie for the third-most on the Cowboys defense, knotting him with standout defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence - and Fowler, once upon a time the No. 3 pick in the entire NFL Draft (in 2015), did his damage in about half the snaps.
Fowler was a budding superstar earlier in his career, as in 2019 with the Rams he finished with a career-high 11.5 sacks, 58 tackles, two forced fumbles and six passes defended. But his time in Atlanta (where again, Quinn was the head coach) didn't end up offering up the same level of performance.
But it happened in 2022. And now the plan for Fowler and Quinn is to do it again. … and maybe for Takk to get another shot as well.
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