Cowboys Lose Out on Valuable Veteran Depth as Dante Fowler Lands with Elite NFC Team

Dante Fowler will be moving on to a different team in 2026, which means the Dallas Cowboys are losing out on a valuable depth option at EDGE.

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

It's official: the Dallas Cowboys will not be re-signing veteran edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr.

ESPN's Adam Schefter and Tom Pelissero report that the Seattle Seahawks are signing Fowler to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million.

The writing was on the wall that Fowler might end up with the Seahawks dating back to last month, when the veteran was brought in for a visit to Seattle.

Fowler appeared in all 17 games for the Cowboys last season but posted just three sacks. In all, Fowler has spent three years with the Cowboys during his career, tallying 13 sacks in that span.

Sandwiched in between those stints with the Cowboys was his lone season with the Washington Commanders, when he finished with 10.5 sacks, the second-most of his career.

Hence the frustration with Fowler: he has spent more years with the Cowboys than he has with all but one other team he played for yet has never posted anything close to a career year in Dallas.

A missed opportunity for the Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

While Fowler hasn't been great with the Cowboys by any stretch, he still would have amounted to strong veteran depth for Dallas' edge rushers group that still has some question marks.

We know Rashan Gary had a rough second half of last season, and the jury is still out on Donovan Ezeiruaku and Malachi Lawrence. It would behoove the Cowboys to add one more veteran to that group.

Fowler, who said he wasn't 100 percent last season, was the first one to admit he didn't have a good year in 2025, but he was still open to returning to Dallas.

“Defensively, this was probably one of my worst years. I was beat up a lot, so I got to go back to the drawing board. I’ll get my agent and my dad, see some doctors and get my body back right," Fowler said. "I tried to make the most out of what I got, but defensively, it sucked. Not going to lie.”

“For sure. This is my home," Fowler said of a possible reunion with the Cowboys. "I can have a really good role here. As long as I’m healthy, I’m good. It was just one of those years.”

Fowler joins a Seahawks defense that already has an embarrassment of riches.

Seeing as how Fowler will have a ton of talent around him and is no longer playing in Dallas, nobody should be shocked if he has a monster year in 2026.

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