Courtney Brown (defensive end)

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

Courtney Lanair Brown (born February 14, 1978) in Charleston, South Carolina is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Cleveland Browns first overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at Penn State.

[edit] High school

In Charleston, Brown attended Macedonia High School and was an All-American linebacker in 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 Shrine Bowl. Brown was also an accomplished basketball star playing in the North/South All-Star game.

[edit] College

Courtney Brown attended Penn State from 1996-1999 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.

[edit] Awards and honors

• 2x 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)

[edit] NFL

Brown was the #1 draft pick in his year - making him the eleventh-ever defensive lineman to be taken first overall in the 70-plus year history of the NFL Draft - by the Cleveland Browns, before Penn State teammate LaVar Arrington.

[edit] Cleveland Browns

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. Unfortunately, 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.

[edit] 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 injury 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 to tryout for the Colorado Rockies.[2].