The Jacksonville Jaguars have traded defensive end Dante Fowler, Jr. to the LA Rams, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Jaguars are trading former first-round pick Dante Fowler to the LA Rams, per source. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 30, 2018 The reported compensation is the Rams 2019 third-round pick and the Rams 2020 fifth-round pick. As the trade deadline neared, rumors about Fowler leaving the Jaguars filled the headlines. FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, NBC Sports’ Peter King, and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero all reported interest throughout the league in the past 24 hours. Fowler was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft but never quite lived up to his draft slot. From an unlucky season-ending injury during the first practice of his rookie season to numerous off-the-field incidents and just 14.0 sacks in 39 games played, Fowler was unlikely to receive a second contract from the Jaguars so getting anything for him is an ideal scenario. We’ll update this story as we learn more.<doc-sep>With about 30 minutes to go before the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline., the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars came to an agreement on a deal for pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. The former first-round pick (No. 3 in 2015) is headed to L.A. in exchange for a third-rounder in 2019 and a fifth in 2020, giving the Rams much-needed help at outside linebacker. Given the compensation and the fact that Fowler is set to be a free agent after this season, there’s certainly some risk in this move for Los Angeles. It’s not as if the Rams simply gave up a sixth-rounder in 2019 to make the deal happen. Third- and fifth-round picks are expected to make NFL rosters as rookies, and many of them turn into quality starters. That being said, this was a worthwhile risk – one that will make the Rams even better now and in the future. Fowler will step in right away and be a starter at outside linebacker opposite Samson Ebukam. That will push Matt Longacre and Trevon Young to the sideline, making them role players. It’s too early to call this a home run right now, but given Fowler’s build, skill set and athleticism, it’s easy to get excited about this move. With the Jaguars, Fowler played defensive end in a 4-3 scheme. In Wade Phillips’ scheme, that’ll obviously change. Instead of putting his hand in the dirt and rushing from that position, he’ll be a stand-up outside linebacker. In 2017, Fowler had his best season in the NFL. He recorded eight sacks, 10 quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss and 37 pressures. His Pro Football Focus grade was just 53.1, but he was a productive pass rusher for Jacksonville – a team with about as much talent as the Rams up front, if not more. There’s no question about Fowler’s talent or potential. Sure, he needs to refine his pass-rush moves and realize that potential, but there are some concerned about him putting it all together this season. He only hit the quarterback once and had two sacks in seven games this season. If that’s the sort of production Los Angeles is going to get, this trade is going to look like a loss by season’s end. However, if he breaks out and becomes that go-to rusher the Rams so desperately wanted Ebukam to be, this will be a fantastic deal for L.A. Then comes the contract situation. The Jaguars didn’t feel good enough about his play to pick up his fifth-year option in 2019, which is telling in its own right. It’s unlikely Fowler plays himself out of the Rams’ range with a phenomenal finish to the season, so no matter what, the Rams will be in the market to re-sign him. With an estimated $35 million in cap space next season, pending recent moves, there’s plenty of room to sign Fowler long-term. If he walks in free agency, it won’t be the end of the world, either. As long as he shows enough potential to earn a nice payday in March, the Rams will get at least a fourth-round compensatory pick for him in 2020. That splits the difference between the picks they gave up to get him, almost making it a wash. Given the Rams’ Super Bowl aspirations and their need for an edge rusher, this was a wise move – a risk worth taking for a team as talented as they are. The ideal scenario is Fowler racking up a handful of sacks in the final eight games and signing with the Rams long-term, which is the exact intent Les Snead had with this contract.<doc-sep>
The Jacksonville Jaguars were one of the few teams mentioned heavily in the NFL headlines Tuesday as the trade deadline passed. Of course, the reason for that was trading Dante Fowler to the Los Angeles Rams, a deal some fans aren’t too happy about. Here are some of our takeaways after the front office unloaded the former first-round selection to the NFC-leading Rams: It’s a win for the Jags because his time with them was ticking Fowler is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, and for multiple reasons the Jags weren’t going to re-sign him. First and foremost, their salary cap situation is looking limited, so they likely weren’t going to be able to re-sign him even if they wanted. When we looked at the Jags’ cap situation earlier this month, Spotrac had them projected to be roughly $12 million to $13 million under the cap, while Over the Cap had them projected to be around $3 million under it. The Rams gave up a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick for a guy who is eight games away from unrestricted free agency. — ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 30, 2018 Regardlesss, the Jags were going to have to let some defensive linemen go, so instead of letting Fowler walk for nothing, they got picks for him in return. On top of that, with Fowler being a backup, it’s unlikely they would’ve received a third-round compensatory pick for him, but that’s just my own speculation. Add in the fact that Fowler was a player who the Jags would have a hard time paying due to his off-the-field run-ins and the fact that Yannick Ngakoue will be eligible for a new contract, and it’s clear the Jags made a right decision.