What is going on with Dante Fowler? He committed 4 misdemeanor crimes in 2017 that landed him a one game suspension for the upcoming 2018 season. However, the final straw was earlier this week when he got into a screaming and almost physical altercation with teammate Yannick Ngakoue. This incident earned him a one week suspension from pre-season activities.
Fowler hasn’t had the easiest life since joining the Jaguars. He tore his ACL in his first practice of his rookie season. He would then end up getting out played by Ngkaoue in 2016 and saw his role reduced more and more in 2017 to only being a rotational player.
So that begs the question, what’s going on with Dante Fowler? No one can really say for certain but you have to imagine his time in Jacksonville has had a serious negative impact on his life and career.
Perhaps he looks at Ngakoue and sees what he feels his career should’ve been, yeah last year he recorded eight sacks but only played in 44% of the total snaps.
The kid is a phenomenal athlete and pass rusher and he is used to being the big fish in a small pond in high school and in college he was the best pass rusher available. Fast forward to his time in the NFL and he tears his ACL and he takes a back seat to a gem the Jaguars snagged in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. It also didn’t help Fowler’s case when the Jaguars added veteran defensive end Calais Campbell. Fowler has watched everything be taken from him and he’s not used to that.
Fowler is heading into the 2018 season with a lot of eyes on him but not for the right reasons. This year should’ve been the year he fights for his contract to stay with the team that drafted him. Unfortunately, it’s turned into more of a “what are the Jaguars going to do with him this season?”.
The fact of the matter is he’s turned from a young promising pass rusher to a team cancer. It almost feels as if Fowler has given up on the Jaguars and the Jaguars have no reason to hold on to him for much longer. Fowler is on a contract year, but if his last four years are anything to go by, don’t expect the Jaguars to want him back and don’t expect Fowler to want the Jaguars back.
