After sixteen outstanding years in the NFL, longtime Eagles and Broncos safety for three years has decided to step away from the game and retire. He announced this on Twitter on Monday morning:
The Lord has blessed me to play in the NFL for 16 years. I would like to thank the Eagles & the Broncos 4 believing In me. I would like 2 thank all my teammates & Coaches that I have been blessed 2 go to battle with. Along with u, the fans 4 helping make my career 1 that i have enjoyed tremendously. In other words. I am announcing my retirement from the NFL. #BBTB
He prayed, meditated, and spoke to people close to him to help him make his decision and be at peace with it.
"It's just the fact about having peace about stepping away from the game knowing that I can play the game another year -- that may sound crazy -- but knowing I could play this game at least another year gave me a lot of peace," Dawkins, 38, said during a conference call Monday. "A lot more peace to step away from the game a year too early, rather than a year too late."
Dawkins suffered a neck in injury in a game against Chicago and missed two of the Broncos final regular-season games and both games of the playoffs. Yet Dawkins says that injuries was not much of a factor in his decision.
"Injury factors weren't the main ingredient here. It really wasn't," Dawkins said.
If the Broncos went on to the AFC Championship game he said "it would've taken a move from on high to keep me off the field"
What it came down to was being there for his teammates.
"I wanted to be fair to my teammates, to make sure that I was all-in -- not halfway in, not most of the way in, but all the way in," he said, making note of a 16 game schedule and hope for a push to the playoffs. "It gave me more pause to make sure that I considered it a little more and thought about it a little more and prayed about it a little more, so that my decision, when it was announced today, that I was 100 percent with it."
Dawkins said that there was not a specific moment that the decision to retire came to him.
"There was just a feeling that I've had for a little bit now that this was the right decision, he said. "That feeling turned into a complete peace."
He doesn't have any other immediate plans other than to spend time with his family.
"My wife has done an excellent job of raising our kids," Dawkins told The Denver Post. "A lot of time I'm not here. I'm going to be around more."
He says that he'll go in whatever direction the Lord takes him from here. Currently he has a desire to do some coaching at the high school level. He could be coaching in Mile High City, a place he's grown to love.
"I'll stay here in Denver," he said. "This is a beautiful place and my family loves it here. I love it here, so we'll be here. I'll raise my kids here."
He won't be missing the aches and pains that come with playing in the NFL in a season, Dawkins said that he will miss the camaraderie with his teammates.
"It’s just the things you do with your teammates, the time that is spent with your teammates, the conversations, the joking around, the preparation for games and that competition to go out and see if you can inflict your will on somebody else or make somebody else unball their fist, that type of thing," Dawkins said. "Those are the things that I’ll definitely miss.”
He was asked how he wanted to be remembered, and simply answered as a player who worked hard every day, someone who teammates could count on no matter the situation.
"He can exist," Dawkins said. "It's going to be tough, it's going to be tough, but he can play."
Some have begun talks about him going into the Hall of Fame in Canton,Ohio, but he says that that was not something he said to himself when he entered the NFL.
"There is a small percentage of guys who get a chance to play in the National Football League," Dawkins said. "So, just being able to be on the field, you know, to be out there on the field, not on the sideline but on the field playing the game is something that will be missed."
“If that's something that happens, that will be a blessing," Dawkins said. "I never entered the NFL saying, ‘You know, I'm going to be a Hall of Famer.’ I know some guys do that; I just wasn't one of them. That wasn't my mindset. I did not enter the league saying, ‘I want to play 16 years.’ None of these things were in my mind, so, at this point, now that I can really reflect on my career, if it happens, I will share it with my fans and all those that cheered me on. I would share it with my coaches and teammates.
"It would be an absolute blessing and honor.”
The eight-time Pro Bowler was described as a quiet, friendly Christian who loves his family and football. Whenever he walked onto the field he would change into a warrior before the first snap and kept that mindset until the very last whistle blew.
When he was drafted in 1996 by Philadelphia in the second round sixty-first overall all the way to 2012, his final year in Denver, Dawkins would have two lockers. The first one was his while the other was Weapon X, his alter ego.
In Denver, while many were looking to Tim Tebow to finish things off in 2011, it was Dawkins who was the one that began them. Before every game Dawkins had a pregame prayer that would turn into an impassioned sermon. Dawkin was the one to prepare his team with fiery speeches, pulling players aside of any age to build their confidence or motivate them on a more personal level. Dawkins was the one who even Tebow would say was the ultimate leader in 2011. Even though he could not play against the Steelers in the playoffs, it was Dawkins who gave the Broncos a moving speech that stayed with the team throughout the game.
Dawkins may not have had an interception for the first time in is career in 2011, but it was still filled with impact filled plays. Also with impactful moments off the field.
In his sixteen seasons Brian Dawkins compiled 911 tackles, 37 interceptions (bringing two back for touchdowns), 26 sacks, forced 36 fumbles (most ever by a defensive back), recovered 19 fumbles (bringing one back for a touchdown), and deflected 120 passes in 224 games starting in 221 of them. He's been named to the Pro Bowl eight times and is a 4-time First-Team All-Pro.
If Dawkins played another season he would have broken the record for most seasons played in the NFL by a safety.
Broncos head coach John Fox had this to say about Dawkins with his time he's spent with him:
“Brian Dawkins is one of the best to ever play the game, a future Hall of Famer who changed the way his position is played," Head Coach John Fox said in a statement Monday. "In many ways, he helped my job as a coach with his great leadership and preparation. He brought so much to the table and was such an enormous asset to our football team.
"It’s been an honor and a privilege to coach Brian. Although I will miss the positive impact he had on our team, I congratulate Brian on a tremendous career and wish him and his family all the best going forward.”
May God bless you in the rest of your endeavors Brian.
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