Dante Fowler Jr. out for season after first-day injury

— -- Jaguars rookie  Dante Fowler Jr., the No. 3 pick in the 2015 draft, tore his ACL on Friday when he went down less than an hour into the first day of rookie minicamp, the team announced.

The defensive end's left knee buckled during an 11-on-11 drill. He dropped to the ground, grabbed his leg as he rolled from side to side, and eventually got helped off the field. He was able to put some weight on the leg and was later carted to the locker room for tests.

Offensive tackle Watts Dantzler, who was engaged with Fowler when the DE went down, said he didn't know what happened to cause the injury.

"I really honestly have no idea," Dantzler said. "I was just kicking, got a punch on his shoulder, and he just went down. I don't really know exactly what happened. I feel terrible about it."

Fowler has not yet signed his rookie contract. His deal is expected to be worth about $23 million, fully guaranteed, over four years and contain a fifth-year team option.

Unsigned draft choices participating in minicamp sign an injury protection waiver. If there is an injury, the team will continue to negotiate in good faith as if the player were not injured.

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A source confirmed to ESPN that Fowler had signed a waiver.

The Jaguars had been counting on Fowler to be a centerpiece of the defense and a Day 1 starter.

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, ESPN Jaguars reporter Mike DiRocco and The Associated Press contributed to this report.