Phil Dawson is calling it a career. On Thursday, the kicker announced that he is retiring from the NFL at the age of 44. 
Dawson was the second-oldest player in the NFL last year, behind only Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri. With the Cardinals, Dawson made 5-of-8 field goals and sank all of his extra points before going down with a hip injury.
Prior to that, Dawson spent most of his career with the Browns and also spent four years with the 49ers. Fittingly, his retirement press conference will take place in Cleveland, where he kicked for 14 seasons.
Dawson leaves the game with a Pro Bowl nod (2012) and a lifetime FG completion rate of 83.8%. His hip will get some well-deserved rest after 526 career attempted field goals and 305 career games.
Won’t be long before a team comes calling, just waiting for Boswell to fall apart again.
I don’t think he will
We must ask, was he the greatest right footed kicker of all time?
No. He’s not even the greatest of his era. Ever heard of this Adam Vinatieri guy?
No we mustn’t, because he isn’t. Dawson was a good to great kicker but might not even be top 10 all time in many people’s minds.
Regardless, Phil will be able to sit down one day with his grandkids and state that when he retired he had a better rushing average than Jim Brown AND a better passer rating than Aaron Rodgers. How many other players can say that?
He was the best Browns kicker in my lifetime. Was pissed that he wasn’t retained. Kicking game has been a mess ever since.
I’m so old I remember Lou “The Toe” Groza… He was a great one, but the eras are so completely different that it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Groza was the first kicker I remember who had his coach’s confidence for 50+ yard field goals. One can only wonder what he would have done in this era.
Back when Lou played there was none of the “specialization” that exists today. He was primarily an OL and even in this era I think he could out kick almost every guard, tackle or center.
According to the NFL’s statistical analytics, Dawson ranks only #22 on the list of modern era kickers
Most analytic “experts” are nancy boys who skipped rope with the girls at school rather than get embarrassed playing sports. Who cares about their rankings?
I’m not even a Browns fan but I feel like reaching for a tissue. Enjoy retirement Phil…you were a class act.