Free agency in the NFL often comes down to money. But for older veterans, other factors such as roster fit, coaching preferences or living conditions play a role. For edge rusher Dante Fowler, though, it seemed to come down to one thing — winning.
That was the pitch fellow veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence delivered to Fowler. It turned out to be the winning pitch.
“We talked for like 30 minutes on FaceTime, just chopping it up, and after that I made my decision,” said Fowler of a recent conversation with Lawrence, via Seahawks.com’s John Boyle.
Then in front of reporters Monday, Fowler re-delivered Lawrence’s message to him.
“If you want to win a Super Bowl, you should come here.”
Fowler agreed to a 1-year deal worth up to $5 million to play for the Seahawks in 2026. With the defending champions, Fowler will try to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time in eight years.
The veteran edge rusher lost the Super Bowl as part of the Los Angeles Rams in February 2019.
Dante Fowler Wanted to Work With Seahawks DC Aden Durde
In free agency, it usually doesn’t come down to just one factor. That was true even for the 31-year-old Fowler who has never won the Super Bowl.
Fowler also explained Monday that he wanted to play for Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde.
“Really because of the defensive coordinator, Coach AD,” Fowler added on his decision to sign with the Seahawks. “Me and him have a really great relationship going all the way back to when I was playing with the Falcons, and when we had a really great defense with the Cowboys.
“So just being able to come and play for him again as a defensive coordinator is really cool. I’ve been a fan of Mike Macdonald since he was the defensive coordinator at the Baltimore Ravens, so just to be able to be a part of this defense is really special.”
Durde began his NFL coaching career as an Atlanta Falcons coaching intern in 2016. He became a defensive assistant in 2018 and rose to outside linebackers during 2020.
Fowler joined the Falcons in 2020. The pair only spent one year together in Atlanta. But Durde coached Fowler again when he was the Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach during 2022 and 2023.
In three seasons playing for Durde, Fowler averaged about 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits per campaign.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post DeMarcus Lawrence’s 1-Line Message That Convinced Dante Fowler to Join Seahawks appeared first on HEAVY.