The Falcons released Fowler on Wednesday.
Fowler signed a three-year, $48 million contract in March 2020, though he later accepted a pay cut for 2021, at which point the final season of the deal became a void year. Given that he was released before the start of the 2022 league year, Fowler will immediately be able to sign with a new team, rather than having to wait until the start of free agency in mid-March. The 27-year-old edge rusher recorded only 7.5 sacks in 28 games with the Falcons, and he's turned in just one season with double-digit sacks (11.5, in 2019 with the Rams) since being selected by Jacksonville with the third overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Active for Week 15
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Fowler (calf) is active Sunday against San Francisco, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.
Fowler logged a limited practice Friday, which will be enough for him to suit up against the 49ers. He will be a key member of Atlanta's pass rush, as he has picked up 2.5 sacks across his last four games.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Labeled day-to-day
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Coach Arthur Smith said Wednesday that Fowler (calf) is day-to-day, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.
Fowler injured his calf during Sunday's win over the Panthers, but he hasn't yet been ruled out for Week 15 against the 49ers. Of course, for any chance of suiting up in San Francisco, the pass rusher will likely need to put forth at least a handful of limited practice sessions.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Suffers calf injury Sunday
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Fowler (calf) is questionable to return to Sunday's contest against the Panthers, Tori McElhaney of the Falcons' official site reports.
Fowler had three tackles for loss, including one sack, before leaving the Week 14 contest in the second half with a calf injury. If he is unable to return, James Vaughters will likely see increased snaps for the remainder of the contest.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Back at practice
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Fowler (knee) was designated to return from injured reserve Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of Sportstalk 790 Houston reports.
Fowler has been sidelined the past few weeks due to the knee injury, but he's nearing a return to full health. The 27-year-old now has a three-week window in which he can practice and be reinstated to the active roster.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Moves to injured reserve
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Fowler (knee) was placed on injured reserve Friday.
Fowler was already ruled out for Sunday's matchup with the Dolphins, and he'll now be unavailable for at least two additional games due to the knee injury. The 27-year-old will be eligible to return Week 10 against the Cowboys, though it's unclear how long he's expected to be sidelined.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Tallies another sack
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Fowler posted three tackles (one solo), a sack, a pass breakup and a forced fumble in Sunday's 17-14 win over the Giants.
Fowler enjoyed an explosive outing, marking his second sack and second forced fumble of the season in the process. The 27-year-old has never been known to maintain a high tackle count, so his fantasy value depends on getting to the quarterback. It'll be tough in Week 4 against Washington, as Taylor Heinicke and Ryan Fitzpatrick totaled three sacks this year.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Back from COVID list
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The Falcons activated Fowler from the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com reports.
Fowler can now attend practice after having begun training camp on the COVID list. The 27-year-old is looking to bounce back after having been limited to 23 tackles and three sacks over 14 appearances last year.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Suiting up Sunday
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Fowler (hamstring) is active for Sunday's game versus the Saints, Will McFadden of the Falcons' official site reports.
Fowler was questionable heading into Week 12 as well, a game in which he logged a season-low 16 snaps on defense. It's possible that his usage was planned ahead of time, and he may have a cap on his reps once again. If that's the case, Jacob Tuioti-Mariner could see more snaps once again.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Questionable for Week 12
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Fowler (hamstring) is questionable for Sunday's matchup against the Raiders, Jason Butt of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Fowler came off the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, but he remains beleaguered by the same hamstring injury that kept him inactive Week 9 against the Broncos. He was held out of Friday's practice session entirely, leaving his status up in the air heading into a Sunday matchup against Las Vegas. An appearance would mark Fowler's first since Oct. 29. He has thus far recorded two sacks, six QB hits and one forced fumble in his debut campaign with the Falcons.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Comes off COVID-19 list
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The Falcons activated Fowler (hamstring) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports.
Fowler spent the Falcons' bye week on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but he's now been cleared of all illness concerns ahead of Sunday's game against the Raiders. Interim coach Raheem Morris said Wednesday that he expects Fowler to "get some work in with trainers" at practice, per McFadden, so it remains to be seen whether the pass rusher is over the hamstring injury that caused him to miss Week 9.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Won't play Week 9
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Fowler (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Broncos.
The 26-year-old was unable to practice all week and won't be available for Sunday's contest. Fowler will have Atlanta's bye in Week 10 to aid in his recovery before missing additional games. Takkarist McKinley (groin) is also sidelined, leaving Steven Means and Allen Bailey to start at defensive end for the Falcons.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Picks up hamstring injury
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Fowler (hamstring) didn't practice Wednesday, Will McFadden of the Falcons' official site reports.
This is the first report of a hamstring injury for Fowler, who had previously battled an ankle injury. He's greatly underachieving relative to the large contract he signed with Atlanta this past offseason, with just 17 tackles and two sacks halfway through the season.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Gets support from coach
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Head coach Raheem Morris says Fowler's low sack total correlates to a lack of production from the pass-rush group as a whole, Kelsey Conway of the Falcons' official site reports.
The interim coach was unwilling to place the blame directly upon Fowler despite Atlanta's defense sitting at sixth worst in the NFL with 1.4 team sacks per game. Fowler was certainly expected to move the needle more than he has, as he's collected just one sack since inking a three-year, $45 million free-agent contract in March. If 2017 first-round pick Takkarist McKinley (groin) is traded at the deadline as has been conjectured about, Fowler may have an even greater burden upon his shoulders within Atlanta's thus far uninspired pass rush.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Cleared of ankle injury
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Fowler (ankle) isn't on the injury report ahead of Sunday's game against the Lions, William McFadden of the Falcons' official site reports.
Fowler didn't practice Thursday, but he was able to get back out there Friday and should be good to go come game day. He'll look to get his season on track against Detroit, as Fowler has mustered just one sack through six games with the Falcons after racking up 11.5 for the Rams last season.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Downgraded Thursday
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Fowler (ankle) was a non-participant during Thursday's practice, Tori McElhaney of The Athletic reports.
Fowler practiced in limited fashion at Wednesday's session after he saw a season-high 80 percent of snaps on defense in last week's win over Minnesota. It's not a great sign that Fowler was downgraded, so if he were to miss Week 7 against the Lions, Steven Means would be in line for the start at defensive end.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Back on injury report
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Fowler (ankle) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, Will McFadden of the Falcons' official site reports.
Fowler dealt with an ankle injury earlier this season but has still played in every game. It's unclear if this is the same ankle or a new injury altogether, but Fowler's status isn't a major concern as long as he finishes the practice week without a setback.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Returns to practice Friday
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Fowler (ankle) was a limited participant in Friday's practice, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reports.
Fowler began the practice week as a non-participant, but that has been typical, and the defensive end hasn't missed a game yet. It's a bit concerning that his snaps dropped off from 70 percent in Week 2 to just 34 percent in Week 3, but at this time he appears on track for Monday's game against the Packers.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Misses Thursday's practice
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Fowler (ankle) did not practice Thursday, Will McFadden of the team's official site reports.
Fowler was listed as questionable for Sunday's loss to the Bears, but he managed to play through his ankle injury. The starting defensive end was limited to just 34 percent of defensive snaps, though, an indication that he isn't yet close to full health. He'll look to take steps forward in his recovery leading up to Monday's contest in Green Bay.
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Falcons' Dante Fowler: Good to go Sunday
Rotowire
Fowler (ankle) is active for Sunday's game versus the Bears.
Fowler was limited in practice all week and is healthy enough to play Sunday. The 2015 first-round pick has posted a half sack in each of the first two games, and he'll set his sights on Mitchell Trubisky, who has been dropped five times thus far.
