James Lamont Brown (born January 3, 1970 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. He was drafted by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the third round of the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...

Early years

Brown attended Jules E. Mastbaum Area Vocational Technical School, where he played as a two-way tackle. He also practiced the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a

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freshman, he was named the starter at

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He would become a three-year starter at left tackle and did not surrender a sack as a senior.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Brown was selected by the

in the third round (82nd overall) of the

, after a great showing at the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

. He was released from the team before the season started.

New York Jets

On September 2, 1992, he was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. In 1993, he made the regular roster and played in 14 games (one start). In 1994, he started 6 out of 16 games and in 1995 he started 12 of 14 games at

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

. In three years with the Jets he started 19 of 44 games. On March 4, 1996, he was traded to the

in exchange for a fifth round draft choice (#145- Raymond Austin).

Miami Dolphins

Brown reunited with his former head coach Jimmy Johnson, during the 1996 offseason. He started all 16 games at

for the Dolphins from 1996 to 1998. On March 2, 1998, he was signed to a five-year $10.5 million contract with a $3.1 million signing bonus. In 1999, he started 14 of 15 games, missing one due to a sprained left ankle. On June 15, 2000, the Dolphins released him only two years into the five-year contract.

Cleveland Browns

On July 13, 2000, Brown signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

, starting 5 out of 7 games at

. He was not re-signed after the season.

References

External links

Miami Dolphins All-Time Top 100 Players: James Brown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, James 1970 births Living people Players of American football from Philadelphia American football offensive tackles Virginia State Trojans football players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players Cleveland Browns players