Dante Fowler Jr. is still a member of the Seattle Seahawks, but you'd be within your rights to ask if he was. The free agent acquisition has not made any kind of impact in three games. Not that head coach Mike Macdonald will admit that. He is unlikely to throw a player under the bus unless they make some horrible error.
Fowler hasn't made an awful error because he hasn't done anything. The team would have been better off paying Boye Mafe, even if it would have cost far more than signing Fowler. The former has played on 39 snaps and has been bad at setting an edge against the run. The latter has been a star.
The Cincinnati Bengals payed $20 million a season to bring Mafe aboard this past offseason, and so far he has produced 14 quarterback pressures, had two run stuffs, forced a fumble, and played 140 snaps.
Dante Fowler Jr. continues to be missing in action for the Seattle Seahawks through three games
Imagine how good Seattle's defense would have been had it kept Mafe, even while expensive, rather than signing Fowler to replace him. Week 3 likely would have turned out differently. The Seahawks allowed 26 points on defense (one touchdown was a pick-six thrown by quarterback Sam Darnold), and that is fairly unacceptable against a team with a backup quarterback.
More glaring was the Seahawks allowing the Commanders to pick up key gains on the run, especially on the final drive of the game. Mafe likely would have set a harder edge on the end. Fowler simply cannot do that.
Plus, what made Seattle's excellent edge rush group was that the team went four-deep. In 2026, the group is three-deep with quality. If Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, or DeMarcus Lawrence misses any time with an injury, Fowler hasn't proven he can take valuable reps in place of Nwosu, Hall, or Lawrence.
In the 39 snaps he has played, Dante Fowler Jr. hasn't made a single tackle, and the only statistical involvement he has had was three quarterback hurries. He hasn't yet touched a quarterback, and he has rarely even had his name called. Seattle Seahawks would have a right to wonder if Fowler is being a healthy scratch for games. He hasn't been, but he might as well have.
Of course, don't expect Mike Macdonald to discuss Fowler negatively. The Seahawks don't run their business that way, but it is more telling in how many reps players are getting. Nwosu has 39 snaps, Lawrence has 117, and Hall has 108. Macdonald doesn't need to discuss Fowler negatively; the number of reps he is getting speaks volumes.
What happens if Lawrence, Hall, or Nwosu gets injured? Seattle might need to look for help in free agency. Joey Bosa, Leonard Floyd, and Denico Autry are still free agents. None of them might be good enough to join the Seahawks currently. That said, Dante Fowler Jr. hasn't proven that either in three games.
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