browner

Joey Browner, a star defensive back at USC and a six-time NFL Pro Bowl selection, has died. He was 65.

“The Vikings are mourning the loss of Ring of Honor member Joey Browner,” the team said Sunday in a statement. “Browner will be deeply missed by former coaches and teammates, as well as many others he impacted throughout his life.”

The Vikings added in a separate post: “He helped define what it is to be an NFL safety.”

No cause of death was given. In August, former Minnesota quarterback Tommy Kramer organized a fundraiser for Browner, who Kramer said was “battling through some serious health issues.”

On Sunday, Kramer wrote about Browning on Facebook: “Not only a great player, a great person. Rest in peace my friend.”

Browner was one of six brothers, all of whom played college football and four of whom went on to play in the NFL. Younger brother Keith Browner, who also played at USC and spent five seasons in the NFL, died in November at age 63 after a sudden illness.

Oldest brother Ross Browner, who played 10 NFL seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers, died in 2022. Another older brother, Jim Browner, who played two seasons for the Bengals, died in 2024.

A high school standout in football, basketball and track and field, Browner played at USC from 1979-1982. He was named team MVP his senior year and finished his college career with nine interceptions and 40 pass deflections, as well as one punt return for a touchdown.

In the 1983 draft, Browner became the first defensive back to be selected by the Vikings in the first round (19th overall). He went on to play nine seasons in Minnesota, making the Pro Bowl six times (1985-1990), and spent his final NFL season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Browner finished his career with 37 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles and 17 fumble recoveries. He was named to the NFL 1980s all-decade team, as selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and inducted into the Vikings’ Ring of Honor in 2013.

Sean Salisbury, a former quarterback whose career intersected with Browner’s in college and the NFL, was one of many in the football community paying their respects to the four-time All-Pro player.

“This is a major gut punch,” Salisbury wrote on X. “I was blessed to be his teammate at USC and with the Vikings! Phenomenal player and loved by so many. One of the best players I’ve ever played with in both college and the NFL. Very grateful to have called him a good friend. God Bless him and his family.”

Former tight end Steve Jordan, who played nine seasons with Browner in Minnesota, recently visited his former teammate in the Twin Cities, according to a Vikings news release.

“We’ve lost a great friend and one of the best Vikings teammates,” Jordan said in a statement released by the team. “God blessed Joey with phenomenal talent and a big heart to love people and be a beacon of positivity. Truly, he will be missed.”

Former quarterback Rich Gannon, who played five seasons with Browner in Minnesota, wrote on X: “Sad to hear about the passing of my former teammate Joey Browner. On the football field he was one bad dude, off he was a kind soul!”

Retired punter Greg Coleman wrote on X that “one of the happiest moments of my time with the Vikings” was learning that Browner was going to be added to the punt team.

“One of the best teammates you could have and a man I called Friend!” Coleman wrote. “Prayers up for his family. RIP JB!”

Current Vikings cornerback Dwight McGlothern wrote on X: “Dang, I had a chance to meet him my rookie year & I was wearing #47 at the time during camp & hearing about his accomplishments, I’m grateful to [have] had the chance to meet him & [represent] the # he wore with the Vikings !! Everytime I walk in the DB room I always see greatness on the wall !!”