This is the smart move

Fowler is young and an important defensive piece, but you would be giving a large deal to a player with really one very good full season under his belt. Isn't that kind of what some of their recent, big cap headaches are based on?

Littleton has been performing week in and week out for several years. Matthews doesn't have the upside or athleticism of Fowler but they could keep him at his number as a veteran presence. He still tallied a good number of sacks even with his games missed.