Dante Fowler Jr. has become like an NFL journeyman after the Jacksonville Jaguars used the third overall pick on the former Florida Gators star pass rusher. He has played for four different teams over the last eight seasons. He’s now with the Dallas Cowboys, who signed him to a one-year deal this offseason.
However, he’s still paying for a mistake he made while he was with the Jaguars. On Thursday, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reported that a civil jury in Florida has ordered Fowler to pay $280,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to a St. Petersburg man he attacked after a near-miss traffic accident in 2017.
The original arrest report says that Fowler nearly hit another vehicle after failing to come to a complete stop at an intersection. An apartment resident nearby who witnessed the close call shouted something to Fowler. The third-year Jaguars defender, at the time, exited his vehicle and struck the 55-year-old bystander, stepped on his eyeglasses, and threw his grocery bag into a lake.
Fowler apologized publicly a week later in 2018 as Jacksonville training camp kicked off. He told reporters that isn’t who he is as a person and that it wouldn’t happen again.
The victim claimed he “suffered a torn rotator cuff and exacerbation of cervical spine injuries, among other injuries” from being knocked to the ground by Fowler. He pleaded no contest in 2018 to misdemeanor battery, criminal mischief, and petty theft in the matter.
He was suspended for the Jaguars’ season opener in 2018. Even after this week’s ruling, Fowler is not in line for any further punishment from the NFL in that case.
Jacksonville eventually traded him later that season to the Los Angeles Rams. He finished his career in Duval County with 62 combined tackles, 14 sacks, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.