Phil Dawson served as the kicker for the Cleveland Browns for the first 14 years of his storied NFL career before moving on to spend four years with the San Francisco 49ers and two more with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring following the 2018 season at 43 years old.
Dawson is part of the Browns’ 2024 Legends class and recently had an honest admission about his tenure with the franchise.
Browns writer Scott Petrak of The Chronicle-Telegram shared that Dawson did not want to leave the Browns when he did and that being so close to Lou Groza’s all-time franchise scoring record without having the chance to break it was always a hard pill for him to swallow.
Former #Browns K Phil Dawson, who's part of 2024 Legends: Leaving when I did was not what I wanted. Being so close to Lou Groza as franchise's all-time leading scorer was a hard pill to swallow.
Looking back, it's good Lou Groza has that record. He is the Browns.— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) September 19, 2024
Dawson also said “Looking back, it’s good Lou Groza has that record. He is the Browns.”
Groza has 1,349 points for the Browns and Dawson ranks second with 1,271.
Groza played in 216 games for the franchise while Dawson played just one fewer at 215, and each scored one touchdown.
Dawson might have had a shot at Groza’s record if the Browns had been better during his tenure, as he is the franchise’s all-time leader in field goals with 305, which is 71 more than Groza, but Groza clears him with 641 extra points compared to Dawson’s 350.
Groza is a 9-time Pro Bowl selection, 4-time NFL champion, and is in the Hall of Fame, so there is no shame in coming in second place to a guy like that who played 21 years with the franchise.
Congrats to Dawson on being elected to the Cleveland Browns Legends.
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