Pharaoh Brown (born May 4, 1994) is an

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 ...

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. Lik ...

for the

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 (A ...

of 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). He was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an

undrafted 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 ...

following the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

. He played college football at

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Early life

Brown grew up in

Lyndhurst, Ohio Lyndhurst is a small city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and an eastern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 14,050 at the 2020 census. A small part of Lyndhurst was originally part of Mayfield Township. History The land currently c ...

where he played football and basketball at Brush High School, graduating in June 2012. During the college recruiting process, Brown initially committed to play for

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in May 2011, but ultimately signed his

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term sh ...

to play at Oregon in February 2012.

College career

Brown played collegiate football at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. During his first year with the Ducks (2012), he was only targeted 3 times making 2 receptions for 42 yards. The following year, Brown appeared in 7 games making 3 starts and made 10 receptions for 123 yards, and 2 touchdowns. During his junior year, Brown would make his most touchdown receptions during his collegiate career at 6, while appearing in 9 games and starting 8. He made 25 receptions for 420 yards. Brown did not play football in 2015 due to a leg injury suffered during the 2014 season, during a game against

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

where he tore two ligaments in his knee. In Brown's senior year (2016), he would again appear in 9 games and start 8 of them, while being targeted 46 times and making 33 receptions. He scored 5 touchdowns while receiving for 426 yards.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Following the

, Brown was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an

on May 5, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Raiders' practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 23, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Brown was waived by the Raiders.

Cleveland Browns

On September 25, 2018, Brown was signed by the

' practice squad. Brown was elevated to the Browns' active roster on October 23, 2018. He was placed on injured reserve on December 8, 2018 with a shoulder injury. Brown re-signed with the Browns on April 20, 2020. He was placed on the active/

physically unable to perform list Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

at the start of training camp on July 29, 2020, and activated from the list ten days later. Brown was waived by the Browns on September 6, 2020.

Houston Texans

On September 14, 2020, Brown was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad, and promoted to the active roster the next day. In Week 10 of the 2020 season against the

, he had his first professional touchdown. Brown re-signed with the Texans on March 24, 2021. He played in 15 games with 12 starts, recording 23 catches for 171 yards. On March 24, 2022, Brown re-signed with the Texans. He was waived on October 4, 2022.

Cleveland Browns (second stint)

On October 6, 2022, Brown was signed by the

References

External links

Oregon Ducks bioHouston Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Pharaoh 1994 births Living people American football tight ends Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players Oakland Raiders players Oregon Ducks football players Players of American football from Cleveland