Phil Dawson announces retirement, will sign contract to retire as a Brown

Updated Aug 1, 2019; Posted Aug 1, 2019

The Plain Dealer | Phil Dawson walks off the field in 2012 in what turned out to be his final game with the team. (Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

By Dan Labbe, cleveland.com

BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns are signing a kicker on Friday. It won’t be one who can solve their current kicking troubles.

Former kicker Phil Dawson will sign a contract with the team and officially retire as a member of the Cleveland Browns.

“To have the opportunity to come back home and retire with the organization and the city that I love is incredibly meaningful to me,” Dawson said in a release from the team. “It only seems right to have the opportunity to do this with the fans that have been so good to me and my family.”

“We are thrilled that Phil Dawson wanted to come back and retire as a Cleveland Brown,” Dee and Jimmy Haslam said. “He epitomizes the characteristics that we look for in our players – hardworking, professional, consistent and he was a pillar in the community. He is a great example for all current and future Browns.”

Dawson began kicking for the Browns when the team returned to Cleveland in 1999. He was with the team through 2012 and holds team records for most career field goals (305), highest career field goal percentage (84.0), most field goals in a season (30 in 2008), highest field goal percentage in a season (93.5 in 2012), field goals in a game (six on Nov. 5, 2006), most consecutive field goals made (29) and most consecutive games with a field goal (23). His 1,271 points are the third-most by a Browns player.

Dawson signed with the 49ers following the 2012 season. He kicked there for four seasons before spending the final two years of his career in Arizona.

Dawson became one of the most beloved members of the post-move Browns. His most memorable moments might have come in the 2007 season, when the Browns went 10-6 but missed the postseason. His 51-yard kick in Baltimore that bounced off the stanchion of the goal post forced overtime and he later won the game in overtime with a 33-yard kick.

During a snowy game against Buffalo, Dawson connected on two difficult kicks in a game the Browns won, 8-0.

Dawson appeared in 305 regular season games during his career and is seventh in the NFL with 305 career games, eighth with 441 field goals made and 11th with 1,847 points scored.