Courtney Brown

For the current NFL cornerback, see Courtney Brown (cornerback). For other persons named Courtney Brown, see Courtney Brown.

Courtney Lanair Brown (born February 14, 1978 in Charleston, South Carolina) is a former American football defensive end of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns first overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State.

Brown played the first five seasons for the Browns before playing his final two with the Denver Broncos. After numerous surgeries, Brown chose to retire prior to the 2007 season.

Early years

Growing up in Alvin, SC, Brown attended Macedonia High School and was an All-American linebacker his senior year. He also contributed on offense by playing tight end. Brown earned Gatorade Player-of-the-Year accolades in his senior year. He played in the East-West Shrine Game. Brown was also an accomplished basketball star playing in the North/South All-Star game. Throughout his high school career, he maintained a 4.0 GPA.

College career

Courtney Brown attended Penn State from 1996-2000 where he was teammates with LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short. In 1999, he was a consensus first-team All-American and was named to the All-Big Ten first-team. Brown earned the defensive player of the year award and defensive linemen of the year award in his senior year. He finished his college career with a NCAA record-breaking 33 sacks and 70 tackles for loss. He graduated, in 2000, from Penn State with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Arts.

Awards and honors

• 2× First-team All-Big Ten (1998-1999)
• Consensus First-team All-American (1999)
• Big Ten Lineman of the Year (1999)
• Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (1999)
• Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist (1999)
• Chuck Bednarik Award finalist (1999)
• Lombardi Award finalist (1999)
• 1999 Outback Bowl MVP

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Brown was drafted by the Browns first overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, making him the eleventh defensive lineman to be taken first overall in the 70-plus year history of the NFL Draft. Brown had a productive rookie season, recording 70 total tackles and 4.5 sacks. His second season was cut short due to injury, but Brown recorded 4.5 sacks in 5 games. Brown had problems staying healthy for the rest of his career, and struggled on the field. During 2002-2004, Brown only played in 26 games and recorded just 8 sacks.

Denver Broncos

In the summer of 2005, Brown signed with the Denver Broncos. In his first season with the Broncos, Brown had 24 tackles and 2 sacks as a backup. Brown became a focal point on defense during the Broncos push through the playoffs. Brown and the Broncos would come one game short of the Super Bowl falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers. After the departure of Trevor Pryce, Brown was expected to take a bigger role in the Broncos' defense. On March 10, 2006, Brown signed a contract extension worth $745,000 with a signing bonus of $1.55 million.^[1]

However, Brown tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the 2006 preseason. He was placed on the team's injured reserve for the entire 2006 season. On March 19, 2007, Brown was cut by the team after failing a physical. In an article in The Rocky Mountain News, it was revealed Denver coach Mike Shanahan suggested to Brown that he retire from football.^[2]

References

External links

• Denver Broncos bio