FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- No one likes to give back money. Not when it’s agreed to. Not when you’re expecting it. Doesn’t matter if you can afford it or not. Money matters. It’s not fun.
Dante Fowler Jr. understood that. It wasn’t an easy decision for the Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker to say yes to the pay cut he took last offseason because it wasn’t a small amount of money. It was $7 million going back to the Falcons, all in an attempt to help Atlanta get under the salary cap.
Fowler did it because he believed it showed Atlanta he was committed to the franchise.
“The decision was basically me understanding what happened last year and stuff like that,” Fowler said. “And showing that I’m willing and that I want to be here for a good amount of time and I felt like under the circumstances that we was in, I just felt like I could do my part to help the team get better in any type of way.”
For context, the money he gave back is more than any player not named Grady Jarrett will receive in base salary this year. Deion Jones, Matt Ryan and Jake Matthews also would have eclipsed that mark, but they had contracts restructured -- also to get Atlanta under the cap -- and had money moved around instead of being asked to give some back.
Fowler can earn some of the pay-cut money back through incentives built into his contract. If he does that, it’ll show he can continue to be the player the Falcons hoped for when they signed him after an 11.5-sack 2019 season with the Los Angeles Rams.
Last year didn’t go as planned. He started 13 games but had just three sacks, a career low. Then-interim head coach Raheem Morris said Fowler’s sack production “wasn’t good enough.” Fowler, both last season and again Monday, said he played through injuries last season -- hamstring and ankle -- and said there were times where he was hurt enough he could have gone on injured reserve.
But he signed with Atlanta to play for since-fired Dan Quinn, so he gutted it out. It was a season he learned from and vowed not to have again. Fowler said he spent the offseason working on being more explosive, getting back to his old form. Getting back to the player who was the No. 3 overall pick of the NFL draft in 2015.
“I have something to prove regardless,” Fowler said. “You know, I was hurt last year. It is what it is, so willing and ready to make a statement and show you guys that last year was last year.”
Proving things took a little while longer than expected. He began training camp on the COVID-19 reserve list and missed practices. Last week he started to work his way back and the explosion he sought was evident even in practice, where he seemed to have another acceleration and power level Atlanta’s other outside linebackers didn’t possess.
Fowler tried to stay in shape during his involuntary layoff so when he returned he wouldn’t be behind. And so far, he hasn’t been behind at all.
“He’s doing a nice job,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Trying to get in here and earn a role, learning what to do. Pleased with Dante so far and what he’s shown on the field.”
Smith has brought Fowler back at an intentional pace to ramp him up for next month, when the Falcons will need him to be a potent pass-rusher. To be the player Atlanta hoped it was getting instead of the one it saw on the field a season ago. The player who can turn the Falcons’ 29 sacks last season (tied for 23rd in the NFL) and 4.6% sack rate (26th in the league) into something much higher.
Fowler is ready for that, too, in a defense that predicates pressure from everywhere. That should take some onus off Fowler as a rusher, but also open up more lanes for him to excel. At least that’s the plan.
“I think I fit excellent in this defense,” Fowler said. “Kind of similar to Wade Phillips, you know, a lot of players to be in very good position to make plays.”