Tony M. Brown Jr. (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional

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cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the Cleveland Browns of the

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(NFL). He played

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for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018.

Early life

Brown attended Clifton J. Ozen High School in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

, where he played

and was a world-class athlete. As a freshman in 2010, he made 95 tackles, had one

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

and 15 passes broken up. As a sophomore in 2011, he had 96 stops and three interceptions, while adding a fumble recovery and 16 pass breakups. Also an accomplished track athlete, Brown won a silver medal in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2013 Pan American Junior Championships in Medellin,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He lost to Colombian Juan Carlos Moreno, who established a new South American Junior record at 13.42. Brown was named to the ''

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'' All-American Track and Field Team. At the 2013 Texas Class 4A Meet, he won the state title in the 110-meter hurdles (13.63 s), and took third in the 100 meters (10.37 s). He ran a personal-best of 7.76 seconds in the indoor 60m hurdles, the fastest time in the nation in 2013. He ran a PR of 13.38 seconds in the 110m hurdles at the 2013 Texas Relays, the top time in the U.S. in 2013. He won the 110m hurdles at the 2013 USATF National Junior Olympics (13.88 s) and the USATF Junior Nationals (13.69 s). He also recorded a personal-best time of 37.32 seconds in the 300m hurdles at the 2012 Texas Class 4A Meet, where he placed first. Considered a five-star football recruit by ESPN.com, Brown was listed as the No. 2

in the nation in 2014. He committed to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

at the 2014 Under Armour All-America Game.

College career

Brown graduated early from high school and enrolled at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in January 2014, where he began participating in football and track and field. He improved his 100 meters time to 10.12 seconds in the

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semi-finals. On January 18, 2014, he was arrested in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

. On December 31, 2015, he was suspended and sent home for starting a fight while preparing for the 2015 Cotton Bowl.

Professional career

Los Angeles Chargers

Despite running a 4.35 second 40 yard dash, the third fastest at the combine, Brown went undrafted in the 2018 NFL draft. He signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL draft on April 28, 2018. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Green Bay Packers

On September 3, 2018, Brown was signed to the practice squad of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on September 29, 2018. Brown was released on December 28, 2019.

Cincinnati Bengals

On December 30, 2019, Brown was claimed off waivers by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, his rights will be awarded to the Bengals after Super Bowl LIV. He signed a one-year contract extension with the team on March 12, 2020. He was named a backup cornerback to start the 2020 season. He made his first career start in Week 10, recording six tackles, two for a loss, and a pass deflection. He was placed on injured reserve on December 5, 2020. On December 26, 2020, Brown was activated off of injured reserve. Brown re-signed with the Bengals on another one-year contract on March 18, 2021. He was waived on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on October 5.

Las Vegas Raiders

On October 13, 2021, Brown was signed to the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad. He was released on November 1, but later re-signed on December 23.

Indianapolis Colts

On March 8, 2022, Brown signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 13. Brown re-signed with the Colts on a one-year contract on March 16, 2023. The Colts suspended him for three games for conduct detrimental to the team on December 19. On January 8, 2024, the Colts waived him.

Cleveland Browns

On March 19, 2024, Brown signed with the Cleveland Browns. He was released on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad. On October 10, Brown was signed to the active roster. In 6 games for Cleveland, he recorded one forced fumble and five combined tackles. On March 20, 2025, Brown re-signed with Cleveland.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

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Cleveland Browns bioAlabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tony 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Beaumont, Texas Track and field athletes from Texas American football defensive backs Alabama Crimson Tide football players Green Bay Packers players Los Angeles Chargers players Cincinnati Bengals players Las Vegas Raiders players Indianapolis Colts players Cleveland Browns players