The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had enough problems in 2024 that now, in retrospect, we can be kind of amazed they even made the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
The injuries. The turnovers. And on defense, an ineffective, underperforming group of edge rushers.
The Buccaneers need to revamp that position group in the offseason and will need to do so on a budget — salary cap space is limited — which means they would be smart to try and bring in former No. 3 overall pick Dante Fowler via free agency.
Fowler is coming off a season in which his career came back to life with the Washington Commanders in 2024 as he led the team with 10.5 sacks and the franchise advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991.
That was the highest sack total since 2019 for Fowler, who was playing on a 1-year, $3.25 million contract and will turn 31 years old in August.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox has Fowler at No. 42 on his list of the Top 50 NFL free agents in the 2025 cycle.
“Commanders pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr. figures to be one of the more underrated free agents this offseason,” Knox wrote. “The 30-year-old could be looking for his fourth team in five years and has never spent three full seasons with a franchise. However, Fowler was extremely productive in his latest stop, finishing the 2024 season with 10.5 sacks and 20 quarterback pressures. Teams looking for a budget sack artist this offseason should have Fowler atop their lists.”
Fowler should still be available at budget prices — the Buccaneers might be able to land him for a 1-year, $5 million contract offer.
Fowler Went From No. 3 Pick to Journeyman
Fowler was a 2-time All-SEC pick at Florida before the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft but his career got off to a terrible start when he tore his ACL on the first day of minicamp his rookie year.
In Jacksonville, Fowler was illegally fined $700,000 by former head of football operations and 2-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Tom Coughlin for missing rehab and doctor’s appointments — a voluntary activity. That incident led to Coughlin’s firing.
The Jaguars traded Fowler to the Los Angeles Rams midway through the 2018 season. He played his way into a 1-year, $12 million contract with the Rams in 2019 and a 3-year, $45 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020.
Fowler played in 2022 and 2023 on 1-year contracts with the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Commanders after Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was hired as Washington’s new head coach.
Fowler Already on Buccaneers’ Radar in November
Fowler’s play likely already had him on Tampa Bay’s radar during the regular season.
“Tampa Bay could use some help at edge-rusher now and that’s only going to get worse in the offseason when Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson become free agents,” Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder wrote in November 2024. “While Fowler doesn’t offer much run support, he can be a good sub-package pass rusher. The 30-year-old gets after the quarterback as he has 51.5 career sacks, including 6.5 through nine games this fall.”
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