Dean Lowry

Dean Lowry

Lowry with the Green Bay Packers in 2021
No. 94 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:	Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born:	(1994-06-09) June 9, 1994 (age 30) Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:	296 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:	Boylan Catholic (Rockford, Illinois)
College:	Northwestern (2012–2015)
NFL draft:	2016 / round: 4 / pick: 137
Career history
Green Bay Packers (2016–2022) Minnesota Vikings (2023) Pittsburgh Steelers (2024–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-Big Ten (2015)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2024
Total tackles: 269 Sacks: 16.5 Pass deflections: 18 Forced fumbles: 1 Fumble recoveries: 5 Interceptions: 1 Defensive touchdowns: 1 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Dean Vincent Lowry (born June 9, 1994) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats, where he was a four-year starter. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft.

Early life

Lowry was born to Margaret and John Lowry and attended Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois.^[1] Besides football, he lettered in baseball as a freshman and played basketball for one year. He was part of two undefeated teams. He was named as a SuperPrep All-Midwest honoree and an All-State selection by both the Chicago Tribune and Champaign-News Gazette.^[2][3] He finished his senior year with 65 tackles (21 for loss), and 10 sacks.

Lowry was ranked as the 34th defensive end in the country and the 17th best prospect in the state of Illinois. He was ranked as a three star recruit and received a number of scholarship offers from schools such as Northwestern, Ball State, Illinois State, Indiana, Iowa, Northern Illinois, Purdue, Vanderbilt, and Western Michigan. He committed to Northwestern on June 7, 2011.^[4]

College career

Lowry ultimately elected to take the scholarship offer of Northwestern and played in all 13 games that year as a backup to future Minnesota Vikings defensive end Tyler Scott. During a game against Vanderbilt, he had one fumble recovery, one quarterback hurry, two solo tackles, and a pass deflection on the line of scrimmage.^[2] His efforts that year earned him ESPN.com Big Ten Conference All-Freshman Team honors.^[5]

Going into his second season with the Wildcats, Lowry started nine games at defensive end. While making his first start against Syracuse, he had his first career interception. He missed the game against Nebraska to injury; however, he did have his first career touchdown on an interception return against Maine. During a game against Ohio State, he had six tackles (5 solo) and recovered a fumble. He finished the year second on the team in tackles for loss with seven, and third on the team with 4.5 sacks.^[2]

Lowry started every game at defensive end in his junior season. During a game against Notre Dame, he recorded six tackles (1.5 for loss) and forced a fumble. During a game against Western Illinois, Lowry moved over to the defensive tackle spot and had four tackles, one sack, and two passes defensed. He was named the Defensive Player of the Game as a result of his performance. He was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team and an honorable mention by league coaches.^[6] He finished his junior year with 41 tackles with 8 for a loss, ranking second on the team.^[2]

In his final year with the team, Lowry set a single-game team record against Nebraska with six tackles for a loss. He also recorded two sacks in the game and was named the team's Defensive Player of the Game.^[7] He again picked up that honor in a game against the Duke Blue Devils, where he had six tackles with half of one for a loss. He was named as a consensus pick to the second-team All-Big Ten team.^[8]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 5+3⁄4 in (1.97 m)	296 lb (134 kg)	31 in (0.79 m)	9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m)	4.87 s	1.69 s	2.81 s	4.38 s	7.26 s	32.5 in (0.83 m)	9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)	30 reps
All values from NFL Combine[9][10]

Dane Brugler of CBS Sports commented that Lowry was "heavy-handed" and used his momentum and size to compete against blockers and that he played to the best of his ability on every play.^[11] He also cited concerns about his lack of explosiveness and pass-rush moves. He also believed he would be a backup in the National Football League (NFL).^[12]

Green Bay Packers

Lowry was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round (137 overall) of the 2016 NFL draft with the second of two compensatory picks.^[13] Rob Demovsky, a staff writer for ESPN, commented that he was surprised that general manager Ted Thompson ignored the offense this far in the draft. He also mentioned that the Packers liked his athleticism. Eliot Wolf, president of the Green Bay Packers football operations, said in the regards to his pick that he believed Lowry was "an underrated athlete". On May 6, 2016, he signed a contract with the Packers.^[14] Lowry recorded his first NFL sack against the Houston Texans on December 4, 2016. He also recorded a deflected pass and a handful of tackles in that game.^[15] On December 3, 2017, in a 26–20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lowry recovered a Jameis Winston fumble and returned it for the first touchdown in his career in the NFL.^[16] Lowry was awarded NFC Defensive Player of the Week for this performance.^[17]

On July 23, 2019, Lowry signed a three-year, $20.325 million contract extension with the Packers.^[18] In week 15 of the 2019 season against the Chicago Bears, Lowry recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Mitch Trubisky during the 21–13 win.^[19] He was placed on injured reserve on December 27, 2022.^[20]

Minnesota Vikings

On March 20, 2023, Lowry signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings.^[21] On November 19, 2023, he suffered a pectoral injury against the Denver Broncos. He was placed on the injured reserve list the next day.^[22] He was released on March 12, 2024.^[23]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On April 1, 2024, Lowry signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.^[24]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Tackles				Interceptions				Fumbles
		GP	GS	Total	Solo	Ast	Sck	PD	Int	Yds	TD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2016	GB	15	0	8	6	2	2.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2017	GB	16	11	32	18	14	2.0	2	0	0	0	0	1	62	1
2018	GB	16	8	44	31	13	3.0	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
2019	GB	16	16	47	23	24	0.0	3	1	7	0	0	1	0	0
2020	GB	16	16	36	14	22	3.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021	GB	17	17	42	24	18	5.0	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
2022	GB	15	12	43	23	20	0.5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2023	MIN	9	4	14	4	10	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
2024	PIT	9	0	3	1	2	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		129	84	269	144	125	16.5	18	1	7	0	1	5	64	1
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Postseason

Year	Team	Games		Tackles				Interceptions				Fumbles
		GP	GS	Total	Solo	Ast	Sck	PD	Int	Yds	TD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2016	GB	3	0	1	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2019	GB	2	2	3	2	1	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2020	GB	2	2	7	3	4	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021	GB	1	1	4	1	3	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		8	5	15	7	8	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Personal life

At Northwestern University, Lowry majored in economics with a minor in business institutions.^[2]

References

1. "Dean Lowry". Web. Scout.com. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
2. "94-Dean Lowry". Web. Nowrthwestern University. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
3. "Dean Lowry – Tribune high school all-state team". Chicago Tribune. 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
4. "Dean Lowry". Web. Rivals.com. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
5. Bennet, Brian; Rittenburg, Adam (December 10, 2012). "ESPN.com's Big Ten all-freshman team". Web. ESON. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
6. "View 2014 All-Big Ten football teams & individual award winners". Web. Big-Ten Conference. 2014. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
7. "Thorson helps Northwestern hang on to beat Nebraska 30–28". Web. Lincoln, Nebraska: ESPN. October 24, 2015. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
8. Yarina, Brent (2015). "2015 All-Big Ten Defensive Team & individual award winners". Web. Big Ten Network. p. 1. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
9. "Dean Lowry Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
10. "2016 Draft Scout Dean Lowry, Northwestern NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
11. Brugler, Dave (February 21, 2016). "Dean Lowry, DE". Web. CBS Sports. Archived from the original on July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
12. Zierlein, Lance. "Dean Lowry". Web. National Football League. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
13. Demovsky, Rob (April 30, 2016). "Packers make Northwestern's Dean Lowry fourth defensive player in five picks". Web. Green Bay, Wisconsin: ESPN. p. 1. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
14. "Packers sign four draft choices". Packers.com. May 6, 2016. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
15. Trowbridge, Matt. "Boylan grad Dean Lowry talks about his first NFL sack for Packers". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
16. "Runaway: DL Dean Lowry's score helps Packers top Bucs in OT". Fox Sports. December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
17. Lam, Quang M. (December 6, 2017). "Josh McCown, Wilson among Players of the Week". National Football League.
18. Reardon, Logan (July 23, 2019). "Packers sign DE Dean Lowry to three-year extension". National Football League.
19. "Jones scores twice, Packers complete season sweep of Bears". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
20. "Packers sign WR Bo Melton to active roster". packers.com. December 27, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
21. Young, Lindsey (March 20, 2023). "5 Things to Know About Vikings New DL Dean Lowry". Vikings.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
22. "Vikings Activate Chris Reed, Place Dean Lowry on Injured Reserve". Vikings.com. November 20, 2023.
23. "Vikings Have Waived William Kwenkeu & Terminated Contract of Dean Lowry". Vikings.com. March 12, 2024.
24. Varley, Teresa (April 1, 2024). "Lowry signed to two-year contract". Steelers.com.

External links

• Pittsburgh Steelers bio
• Northwestern Wildcats bio