Another injury hit the Cleveland Browns in their latest win. This time, it's kicker Dustin Hopkins who has been deadly accurate all season. While there's no word if he will miss time, the postgame updates were less than promising. With a game on Thursday night, it's likely the Browns need to bring in a replacement.
Whether that will be for one week or the remainder of the year has yet to be determined. Still, Cleveland must act and their fans are coming together on social media asking for a former team captain to come out of retirement -- Phil Dawson.
Time to call @phil_dawson_4, DEAD SERIOUS!! pic.twitter.com/bwqYAGkwF4
— Pumpkinhead 🎃 (@PumpkinNation) December 24, 2023
Dawson was the franchise record holder for the most kicks made in a single season as well as the most field goals from 50 yards out. That was until Hopkins topped each of those a couple of weeks ago. Hopkins was also closing in on the team scoring record before his injury.
Browns fans are looking to the wrong retired kicker
There's no denying Dawson was great when he kicked for the Browns. In 14 seasons, he made 84 percent of his attempts and was one of the best players on some tough teams to watch. Having said that, he's going to be 49 years old in less than a month. Cleveland is too good to bank on a kicker approaching 50 who hasn't attempted a field goal since 2018.
Instead, they need to see if Robbie Gould is willing to come back from his retirement, which is just a few weeks old. During the first week of December, Gould said he was done but the fact that he waited that long could indicate he was hoping for one more shot.
Gould, who is 41, made 27-of-32 field goals for the San Francisco 49ers last season including a 51-yarder. He might not be the elite kicker he once was but he's superior to any of the other options. That includes Dawson, even if it would be a fun story.