Ranking the Cleveland Browns top 5 free agent signings since 1999

1. Phil Dawson – Kicker

It is not often that a kicker would be a franchise’s top free agent over 20-plus seasons, but Phil Dawson is different.

He was the constant staple for the Browns for their first 14 years back in the league. He was beloved by the entire fan base, and still is to this day, despite playing for two other teams after leaving the Browns.

After going undrafted in 1998, Dawson bounced around practice squads until 1999 when the Browns signed him. For the next 14 seasons, he called Cleveland home and booted a lot of balls through the uprights.

Dawson scored the first points of the Browns’ new tenure in the NFL, something that will never be taken away from him or the history books. Over the course of the decade-plus, Dawson became the Browns all-time leader in field goals, consecutive field goals made, and most field goals in a game.

In his Cleveland Browns career, Dawson connected on 305 of 33 field goals (84 percent) and 350 of 358 extra points (97.8 percent).

In 2013, he left the Browns for the San Francisco 49ers, where he would spend the next four seasons. He then stayed in the NFC West and played his final two seasons for the Cardinals. In 2019, he signed a one-day deal with Cleveland to retire as a Brown.

Dawson saw many changes in teammates over the years and not so many wins, but he was the constant of the Browns roster for nearly a decade-and-a-half.