Good morning everyone, the Seattle Seahawks have woken up!
After an excruciatingly quiet stretch of offseason, the Seahawks have signed one of the most accomplished players of this free agency, bringing former first-round pick Dante Fowler in to play opposite DeMarcus Lawrence and make quarterbacks sad.
By the way, for the comp pick watchers, we’re past the deadline for any FA signings counting toward or against the formula, so this affects nothing but a roster spot and the salary cap.
This has felt like a strong possibility for a while, for a few reasons. Things became even more clear when Seattle entered and subsequently exited the 2026 draft without any drafted edge help. Additionally, Fowler overlapped with Lawrence in Dallas and Aden Durde in 2022 and 2023, and Seattle brought Fowler in for a visit. Finally, reviving 30-year old pass rushers seems to be one of the many specialties of head coach Mike Macdonald.
Fowler is not quite at the same tier as Lawrence – and the $5 million contract supports that, but he completely fits the bill for what has become the Seahawks defensive line engine.
- Versatility across the line
- Known for his high motor and nasty, disruptive playstyle
- Power rusher with high pressure rate. His 2025 was higher than any Seahawks player.
- Skilled and accomplished run defender
It’s not a pure Boye Mafe replacement in terms of skillset. He’s closer to Derick Hall, Lawrence, or even Leonard Williams in that regard.
Fowler’s career production has been a bit up and down. He only has two 10+ sack seasons, but 15 forced fumbles over 10 years is nothing to sneeze at, neither is 74 tackles for loss. His two best seasons were with the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders, so we’ll just assume that the Cowboys don’t know what they’re doing, that Durde and Macdonald do, and look forward to Fowler in a Seahawks jersey soon!