Monday via Twitter former All-Pro Safety Brian “Wolverine” Dawkins announced he was turning in his pads for good. Dawkins played in the NFL 16 years, controlling the back-end of the secondary. Check out the tweet he laid on the masses to announce he was retiring.
The Lord has blessed me to play in the NFL for 16 years. I would like to thank the Eagles & the Broncos 4 … tmi.me/oOdDW
— Brian Dawkins (@BrianDawkins) April 23, 2012
During his 16 years, Dawkins played for the Philadelphia Eagles (13 years) and Denver Broncos (3 years).
The Wolverine was a 2nd round pick out of Clemson by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1996. He went on to be a 4x All-Pro, 9x Pro-Bowler and made the 2000s NFL All-decade team.
Dawkins was the heart and soul of the Eagles defense. The Eagles safety play still hasn’t recovered from letting Dawkins go, when you lose a great player it’s not an easy fix. He is the franchise leader in games played and interceptions for the Eagles with 183 and 34 respectively.
Dawkins finishes his career with 1131 tackles, 37 interceptions, 26 sacks and 42 forced fumbles (the most forced by a defensive back).
One of the most feared defenders to ever play the game but besides being great on the field he did a lot to help off of the field. He was a major player in the United Way campaigns, named “Father of the year” by the American diabetes Foundation, donates funds to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and helps countless non-profit organizations in his spare time.
On 4/23/12 the great Brian “Wolverine” Dawkins chose to hang up his cleats on his own terms at 38 years of age. He will surely be missed on the field but with all of the good he does in the community he will have a lot more free time on his hands to help with more organizations of his choice, which honestly won’t be a bad thing in today’s world. We at The Front Office want to say we appreciate your love and passion for the game, enjoy your retirement sir you deserve it.
