The Jaguars will open the new season without the help of Dante Fowler, Jr.
The third-year defensive end has been suspended one game without pay for violating the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy, the team announced Friday.
"We were informed today of Dante's one-game suspension and we will abide by the league's ruling," Jaguars executive VP of football operations Tom Coughlin said in a statement. "We'll work to get Dante ready to play when he is able to return."
Fowler was sentenced to probation and fines in March after pleading no contest to three misdemeanor charges stemming from his July 2017 arrest in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Fowler, the third-overall pick of the 2015 draft, was arrested after he was seen punching a man following a "brief verbal confrontation" in a St. Petersburg parking lot. Fowler then stepped on the man's glasses, "breaking a lens," per the report. Florida State prosecutor Bernie McCabe's office believed Fowler intentionally caused bodily harm against the individual in addition to "willfully and maliciously" damaging the man's property.
Fowler lost his entire rookie season to a knee injury before accounting for 12 sacks over the past two campaigns, with eight of those takedowns coming a year ago.
Luckily, Jacksonville has depth up front with Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue and Dawuane Smoot outside, while Malik Jackson and Marcell Dareus wreak havoc up the middle.
