Cody Dion Brown (born November 9, 1986) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

in 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

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big Eas ...

and was selected by 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 ...

in the second round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

. He was also a member of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

, and

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

Early life

Brown attended Coral Springs High School, where he made 88 tackles and had nine

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

s as a senior. He was named first-team All-Broward County and honorable mention All-State. Considered a two-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

'', Brown was not ranked among the best defensive end prospects in the nation.

College career

Brown was a three-year starter at

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for the Huskies during his senior season. In 2005, he became the first

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

lineman to start a game after Connecticut's upgrade to

NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

. He was named starter for the Huskies during his sophomore season, and has since started every game in which he participated. In his final two seasons as a Husky, Brown registered a total of 18.5 sacks and 33

tackles for loss The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

and he was named to the First-team All-Big East at defensive end after his senior season.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Picked 63rd overall by the

, Brown was the last of four former Huskies to be taken from in the first two rounds of the

. The Cardinals selection of Brown, together with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

respective second round draft picks,

Darius Butler Darius Jermaine Butler (born March 18, 1986) is an American sports television personality and former professional American football, football player who was a Safety (gridiron football position), safety and cornerback for nine seasons in the Na ...

and William Beatty, and first round

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 ...

selection Donald Brown, established a UConn football presence in the NFL draft; by the end of the second round, the only school that exceeded UConn's four picks—by one pick—was

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. Brown suffered a wrist injury during the 2009 preseason and was placed on season-ending

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on August 24. Brown returned to the team after his surgery, but was waived by the team on September 3, 2010 after he struggled to make the transition from college end to 3-4 NFL outside linebacker.

New York Jets

The

signed Brown to their practice squad on September 7, 2010. Brown was signed to a future contract on January 25, 2011. He was waived on August 7.

Detroit Lions

On August 8, 2011, the

claimed him off waivers, but he never reported to the team and was waived on February 4, 2012.

Calgary Stampeders

Brown signed with the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

in February 2012, but was released in training camp, prior to the

2012 CFL season The 2012 CFL season was the 59th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 55th season for the Canadian Football League. The pre-season began on June 13, 2012, and the regular season started on June 29, 2012. Rogers Centr ...

Montreal Alouettes

Brown signed with the

of the

on May 13, 2013. He was released on June 1, 2013 before the season started.

References

External links

UConn Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Cody 1986 births Living people American football defensive ends American football linebackers UConn Huskies football players Arizona Cardinals players New York Jets players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Coral Springs, Florida Coral Springs High School alumni Calgary Stampeders players Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Florida Canadian football defensive linemen