Even after losing Boye Mafe, the Seattle Seahawks had one of the deepest, most versatile pass-rushing units in all of football. They could've gotten by just fine without him, but general manager John Schneider didn't want to take any chances.
So, what did he do? He followed the blueprint from his Super Bowl-winning campaign. Just like with DeMarcus Lawrence, he turned to the Dallas Cowboys to poach one of their veteran pass rushers, hoping Dante Fowler Jr. would also turn back the clock at Lumen Field.
However, he was mostly a bystander in the first game of the season, barely taking the field in the 13-10 comeback win over the New England Patriots. He was surplus, a bit of a luxury, so to speak, and the Seahawks may not have much use for him after all.
Seattle Seahawks' Dante Fowler Jr. looked iffy in limited snaps in Week 1
Fowler failed to register a single stat in this one. He only played 16 snaps, two of which came in the box. The Seahawks only gave him a one-year deal worth $2.5 million, though, so it's not like they may have envisioned him having a bigger role.
Fowler appeared to make only one somewhat impactful play. He pressured Drake Maye and forced him into a throw that led to one of the quarterback's interceptions. That may not show on the stat sheet, but it might help 12s feel a little better about Fowler's Week 1 performance.
Then again, his one pressure wasn't much of a surprise, all things considered. He may have followed Lawrence's playbook to pursue a Super Bowl ring in Seattle, but with all due respect, he doesn't bring as much to the table.
One can only wonder whether Fowler will be happy with his role in Seattle if this continues. Granted, he knew what he was getting himself into, and winning surely is more fun than losing, but competitors want to be on the field, and while his prime days are in the rearview mirror, he might feel like he can still be of help.
At the end of the day, Mike Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde have every reason to stick to their plan; there's no need to fix what's not broken. Conversely, there wasn't much of a need to add another body to the pass-rushing room just for the sake of it.
If the Seahawks want to add more bodies to that room, which is a big if, they should be looking for the bigger fish -- those who can actually move the needle and play big snaps for them. Otherwise, this always felt like a gratuitous move, and it looks like they finally realized that.
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