One of the greatest safeties of his generation is finally hanging up his hat, leaving not only a hole in the Denver Broncos secondary but one in the NFL as well. For 16 seasons, he played with an intensity like few players can and earned 9 Pro Bowl spots along the way for the Philadelphia Eagles and Broncos. Now the argument becomes whether or not he's a first ballot Hall of Famer. The credentials certainly look good. The Denver Post's Lindsay Jones has his full statement:
"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."
Dawkins will definitely be missed not only in the AFC West but the entire NFL. He's likely to be enshrined in some sort of Broncos Hall of Fame when all is said and done.