Baron Browning (born February 19, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

and was selected by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

in the third round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Browning attended Kennedale High School in Kennedale, Texas. A five star recruit, he played in the 2017 U.S. Army All American Bowl and was a finalist for the

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

. He committed to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

to play

College career

As a true freshman at Ohio State in 2017, Browning played in 12 games and had 14 tackles. He started three of 12 games his sophomore year in 2018, recording 24 tackles and one sack. He again played in 12 games his junior year in 2019, finishing with 43 tackles and five sacks. Browning returned to Ohio State for his senior year in 2020 and was moved from middle linebacker to outside linebacker.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Browning was drafted by the

in the third round, 105th overall, of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract with Denver on July 22, 2021. Browning started his tenure with the Broncos as an inside linebacker but was eventually moved to the outside linebacker group. Browning was placed on the reserve/ PUP list to start the 2023 season. He was activated on October 21, 2023. On September 21, 2024, Browning was placed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury in Week 2 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. He was activated on October 17.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 4, 2024, the Broncos traded Browning to the

for a 2025 sixth-round pick. On March 9, 2025, Browning signed a two-year, $15 million extension with the Cardinals, with a potential additional $4 million in incentives.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals profileOhio State Buckeyes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, Baron 1999 births Living people American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Denver Broncos players Ohio State Buckeyes football players Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas