Ruben Parnell Brown (born February 13, 1972) 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 wi ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who played 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 ...

(NFL) for 13 seasons. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills 14th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. Brown played nine seasons for the Bills and four more for the Chicago Bears, starting all 181 games in which he played. He was a four-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

and nine-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection, including eight consecutive Pro Bowl selections with the Bills from 1996 to 2003. He is the older brother of former NFL linebacker

Cornell Brown Cornell Desmond Brown (born March 15, 1975) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for Virginia Tech, and earned ...

. Brown attended E. C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Brown gained acclaim as the starting left guard for the Buffalo Bills. Brown was named to eight consecutive AFC

teams from 1996 to 2003. Brown was also a 4-time 2nd-team All-Pro. Brown also played in the infamous “Home run throw back” game against the Titans. Was honored 3 times as the Bills’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of The Year award.

Chicago Bears

Brown then signed with the Chicago Bears in 2004. That season, he started only nine games due to injuries. He had a revival in his career in the 2006 season after the Bears made Super Bowl XLI, and was named to the

2007 Pro Bowl The 2007 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2006 season. The game took place on February 10, 2007, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday after the Super Bo ...

. In 2007, Brown played in 8 games before being placed on injured reserve by the Bears on November 8, 2007 due to an injured shoulder. Brown became 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 ...

after the 2007 season. He had stated he would like to return to the Bears in the future but was uncertain whether he would actually return, commenting that he enjoyed his three-year stint with the Bears, and that it rejuvenated his career. The Bears did not plan on offering Brown a contract.

Retirement

After spending the 2008 season out of football, Brown officially announced his retirement on February 2, 2009.

Broadcasting career

Brown currently co-hosts ''The Enforcers'', a weekly television show in Buffalo, NY, with former

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

player

Rob Ray Robert John Ray (born June 8, 1968) is a Canadian sports broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. He was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy by the National Hockey League in 1999 for ...

. Brown is also a regular pundit on Canadian talkshow "Off the Record", which airs on TSN. He also served as an analyst for the syndication network broadcasting the

Fall Experimental Football League The Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) was a professional football minor league that played two seasons in 2014 and 2015. This league's stated goal was to become a professional feeder-system for the National Football League (NFL). The lea ...

. Brown has co-hosted, along with

Mike Catalana Mike Catalana is the Sports Director of WHAM-TV, the ABC affiliate in Rochester, New York. His professional career began in 1986 when he became the Sports Director at WMGC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Binghamton, New York. He came to WOKR (now WHAM) i ...

, ''Bills Tonight'', the Bills' official weekly post game on

MSG Western New York MSG Western New York (MSG WNY) is an American regional sports network that is a joint venture between MSG Entertainment and Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The channel (also on occasion credited as ''Pegula Sports Network'' or ''MSG Buffalo'') ...

, since 2016.

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ruben People from Englewood, New Jersey Sportspeople from Virginia American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Pittsburgh Panthers football players Buffalo Bills players Chicago Bears players American Conference Pro Bowl players National Conference Pro Bowl players 1972 births Living people Ed Block Courage Award recipients