K Phil Dawson has announced his retirement from the NFL. He will sign a contract to retire as a Cleveland Brown.

"To have the opportunity to come back home and retire with the organization and the city that I love is incredibly meaningful to me," said Dawson. "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," said Dee and Jimmy Haslam. "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 appeared in 305 career regular season games during his 21 NFL seasons from 1998-2018. He ranks among the all-time NFL leaders in games played (seventh with 305), field goals made (eighth with 441), points scored (11th with 1,847) and field goal percentage (16th with 83.8).

Originally signed by the Browns in 1999, Dawson won the placekicking job during training camp and remained with the team through the 2012 season. He 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). He scored 1,271 points with Cleveland, the second most by a Brown, and his 215 games are the third-most by a Browns player. In 2012, Dawson became the only Browns kicker selected to the Pro Bowl (Lou Groza was selected as a tackle).

A perennial team captain, Dawson also made a major impact in the Cleveland community. He teamed up with the Adoption Network to invite families who recently adopted children to each home game from 2008-12, so they could form new memories as a family. He was voted the 2012 Browns Player of the Year by the local PFWA chapter, the 2007 Dino Lucarelli "Good Guy" Award honoree by the PFWA, the 2006 Ed Block Courage Award winner by his teammates and the 2006 winner of the Doug Dieken Humanitarian Award for his charitable and community efforts.

Dawson, who played collegiately at the University of Texas, also played for San Francisco (2013-16) and Arizona (2017-18).