Phil Dawson is moving to Arizona, but the 42-year-old kicker isn’t ready to retire.
The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that the Cardinals are working on a deal with Dawson, who spent the last four seasons with San Francisco and who missed just six field-goal attempts in the last two seasons.
Dawson has earned a little more than $3.1 million in each of the last two seasons, and the 49ers, clearly in rebuilding mode, may have been unwilling to pay that amount this year. The Cardinals, meanwhile, slipped to 7-8-1 last season. They appear to be moving on from last year’s kicker, Chandler Catanzaro, who made 75 percent of his field-goal tries last year, which tied for 29th among qualifying kickers. Dawson’s rate of 85.7 ranked 11th.
Catanzaro is one of several veteran kickers available in free agency. Others include the Rams’ Greg Zuerlein, the Bills’ Dan Carpenter and the Jets’ Nick Folk.
If Dawson lands with the Cardinals, he will meet up with safety Antoine Bethea, whom the 49ers released Tuesday and the Cardinals signed Thursday. Another recently released 49er, receiver Torrey Smith, reportedly will sign with the Eagles.
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