Report: Jets interested in trading for Dante Fowler Jr.

The New York Jets have reached out to the Jacksonville Jaguars to gauge their interest in trading former first-round pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr., sources told Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News.

Fowler, who was taken No. 3 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, had eight sacks in his third season in Jacksonville but remains behind Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue on the Jaguars' loaded defensive line.

The Jets, meanwhile, lack top-tier talent at pass-rusher. New York racked up just 28 sacks in 2017, the fifth fewest in the NFL.

Jordan Jenkins is set to start at outside linebacker following a three-sack sophomore campaign, but the likes of Josh Martin and Brandon Copeland have failed to cement the opposite spot.

The Jaguars didn't pick up the fifth-year option in Fowler's contract, so the defensive end will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019, barring the franchise tag.