Dante Antwane Fowler Jr. was born on August 3, 1994, he is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football in Florida. Fowler was selected third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2015 NFL Draft but missed his entire rookie season after sustaining an ACL tear. He would return the following season and played two more seasons for the Jaguars before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018. He would later sign with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020.
Fowler attended Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he was a two-sport star in football and track. Fowler was named an honorable mention to the Sports Illustrated All-American football team following his senior season and was selected to 2012 Under Armour All-America Game. In track, Fowler competed as a shot putter, recording a top throw of 14.32 meters (46.98 feet).
As a freshman at the University of Florida in 2012, Fowler moved to the outside linebacker position. Fowler played in all 13 games and started his first game against Missouri. He recorded 30 tackles, including eight for loss, and 2.5 sacks. He was named to numerous freshman all-American teams. In 2013, Fowler started all 13 games for the Gators and was named a team captain for the two final games of the season.
On March 25, 2020, Fowler signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 14, 2020, and activated on November 25.
On October 22, 2021, Fowler was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. On November 14, 2021, Fowler was activated from IR in time to be active for the week 10 game versus Dallas Cowboys. He was released on February 16, 2022. On March 18, 2022, Fowler signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2015 | JAX | 0 | 0 | Did not play due to injury | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | JAX | 16 | 1 | 32 | 23 | 9 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2017 | JAX | 16 | 0 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 8.0 | 2 | 2 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | JAX | 7 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LAR | 8 | 6 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2019 | LAR | 16 | 14 | 58 | 40 | 18 | 11.5 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2020 | ATL | 14 | 13 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2021 | ATL | 14 | 6 | 36 | 21 | 15 | 4.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | 91 | 40 | 200 | 137 | 63 | 35.0 | 10 | 5 | 79 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2017 | JAX | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 | LAR | 3 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 6 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |