Josh Brown (American Football)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Joshua Clell Brown (born April 29, 1979) 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
placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...
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
Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...
. Brown was selected by the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
in the seventh round of the
2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
. He also played for the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
,
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 ...
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 ...
. Brown was released by the Giants in 2016, after it was made public that he had admitted to an abusive relationship with his wife.


Early life

Brown was born in
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
. He began his football career after his family moved from
Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...
when he was in eighth-grade and he subsequently attended Foyil High School.


Professional career


Seattle Seahawks

Brown was selected by the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
with the 222nd overall pick in the
2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...
. On October 5, 2003, In a game against 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 ...
, Brown kicked a 58-yard field goal, the longest of his career. On January 4, 2004, Brown made his postseason debut against 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 ...
and kicked two field goals as well as all three PATs. On October 10, 2004, after an injury to Tom Rouen, Brown punted for the first time in his career, a 35-yarder, against the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
. On October 17, 2004, Brown kicked a career-high four field goals (33, 40, 28 and 31 yards) against 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 ...
. On October 23, 2005, while playing against the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
he made two field goals over 50-yards: a 55-yarder and a 50-yarder as time expired to win the game. On October 15, 2006, he kicked a 54-yard game-winning field goal while time ran out against the St. Louis Rams to win the game 30–28. Although it would have been a 49-yard kick, Seattle was called for an illegal formation
penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...
. Unlike a
false start In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can resu ...
penalty there was no 10-second run-off so Brown still had a chance to kick, albeit from 54-yards out. On November 27, 2006, he tied his career best by kicking four field goals in a snowy ''
Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...
'' game against the Green Bay Packers, with all four field goals made in the first half. On December 3, 2006, Brown kicked a 51-yard field goal to win the game against 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 ...
, making it his fourth game winning kick in the last minute in the 2006 season. On February 22, 2007, the Seattle Seahawks used their
franchise tag In the National Football League (NFL), the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has on ...
on Brown. On November 18, 2007, Brown made highlights by tackling and nearly stripping the ball from
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...
Devin Hester of the
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
during a third-quarter kickoff. On January 5, 2008, Brown kicked a 50-yard career-high postseason field goal in the NFC Wild Card Game against the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
.


St. Louis Rams

On February 29, 2008, Brown signed with the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
who made him the NFL's highest paid kicker at the time. The
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
had offered him comparable money, but with an extra year and back loaded the whole deal. This would have made him the highest paid kicker, but he took offense to the fact that the Seahawks' contract was something Brown got offered after visiting the Rams. In an interview on
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...
station KJR 950 he stated that he had not wanted to be a "slave to the businessman," a statement that was ridiculed by Seattle media and fans. On October 12, 2008, Brown kicked four field goals, including the game-winning 49-yarder as time expired against
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
. On November 1, 2009, Brown threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
Daniel Fells with 54 seconds remaining in the first half against 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 ...
. On August 13, 2011, Brown made a 60-yard field goal in a preseason game against 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 ...
. Had it been a regular season game, it would have recorded as a career long, but in preseason games stats are not recorded. The Rams cut him in April 2012 in preparation for drafting Greg Zuerlein in the
2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...
. He was in the final year of his $14.2 million five-year deal with the Rams.


New York Jets

Brown was signed by the
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 ...
on May 1, 2012, to compete with incumbent
Nick Folk Nicholas Alexander Folk (born November 5, 1984) is an American professional American football, football placekicker. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats football, Arizona Wildcats, where he received first-team 2006 All-Pacific-10 ...
. Brown was released by the team on August 27, 2012.


Cincinnati Bengals

Brown was signed 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 ...
on December 6, 2012, due to an injury to
Mike Nugent Michael Nugent (born March 2, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State Buckeye ...
. Brown beat out
Neil Rackers Neil William Rackers (born August 16, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting I ...
and
Billy Cundiff William Ambrose Cundiff (born March 30, 1980) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Drake University, and was signed by ...
for the job. On December 23, 2012, he kicked the game-winning field goal 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 ...
to send the Bengals to their first back-to-back playoff berths since the
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
seasons.


New York Giants

Brown signed with the
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 ...
on March 13, 2013. In his first season, he went 23-of-26 in field goals and 31-of-31 in extra points. On December 22, 2013, Brown kicked a game-winning 45-yarder in overtime against 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 ...
. On October 27, 2013, he kicked a career-high five field goals against the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
. In 2014 Brown signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract with the Giants. In his second season with the team, Brown went 24-of-26 in field goals and converted all 44 of his extra points. On December 6, 2015, he missed the game-winning field goal against the
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 ...
in overtime. In 2015, Brown was 27-of-29 in field goals and 41-of-42 in extra points. Brown was selected to the
2016 Pro Bowl The 2016 Pro Bowl (branded as the 2016 Pro Bowl presented by USAA for sponsorship reasons) was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2015 season, which was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 31, 2016. As of 2 ...
in his 13th NFL season after
Stephen Gostkowski Stephen Carroll Gostkowski ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. A member of the New England Patriots for most of his career, he is th ...
declined to participate. After the 2015 season, Brown became a free agent. On April 18, 2016, it was announced that he re-signed with the Giants. Brown reportedly received a two-year, $4 million deal. On August 17, 2016, he was suspended one game by the NFL for violating the league's conduct policy. He released a statement saying "while I do not agree with the suspension, I will accept it. I have exhausted the appeals process and have no other options along those lines." The next day, he confirmed that the suspension stemmed from a
domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
charge in 2015. On October 20, 2016, the
King County, Washington King County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Washington, most populo ...
Sheriff's Office released documents related to a domestic violence case against Brown. In those documents, he admitted to verbally and physically abusing his then-wife, Molly. Giants co-owner
John Mara John Kevin Mara ( ; born December 1, 1954) is an American businessman who is the president, CEO, and co-owner of the New York Giants. Early life and education Mara was born in New York City and grew up in White Plains, a nearby suburb. He is ...
told
WFAN WFAN may refer to: * WFAN (AM) WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, with a sports radio format, branded "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New Y ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
that he re-signed Brown even after he admitted to abusing her in the past. In the face of a firestorm of criticism, the Giants deactivated Brown for their Week 7 game against the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and planned to revisit his status after the game. The next day, in the face of further criticism, the NFL placed Brown on the commissioner's exempt list while it reviewed the documents, saying that they appeared to reference "other instances of abuse" separate from the one for which he was disciplined. Brown had the right to appeal this decision, but ESPN's
Adam Schefter Adam Schefter (born December 21, 1966) is an American sports writer and reporter. After graduating from University of Michigan and Northwestern University with degrees in journalism, Schefter wrote for several newspapers, including ''The Denver ...
reported that he would not do so. The NFL claimed that it made multiple attempts to obtain documents related to the case, only to be rebuffed by the sheriff's office. In response, King County Sheriff John Urquhart told
KIRO-AM KIRO (710 kHz "Seattle Sports") is a commercial AM radio station in Seattle, Washington, owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International. The station airs a sports radio format and is an ESPN Radio Network affiliate. The station's ...
in Seattle that he'd received a letter from an investigator asking for details on the case, but he never disclosed that he was working for the NFL. For that reason, he dismissed the letter as coming from a "yokel." He also claimed that any requests for information on the case would have gone directly to him had the league followed the normal channels, and "we probably would have told them orally a little bit more about what we had" at the time. The NFL, Urquhart said, behaved like a "bully" when it asked for the information in the manner that it did. On October 25, 2016, the Giants released Brown. In a statement, the Giants apologized for their previous "misguided" approach to the situation. This move had been expected since the NFL placed him on the exempt list. That day, several sources close to the situation told ESPN's
Chris Mortensen Christian Anthony Mortensen (November 7, 1951 – March 3, 2024), known to friends as "Mort", was an American journalist regarded as a pioneer working year-round reporting news of the National Football League (NFL). Mortensen was best known f ...
that Brown would never play for the Giants again, and that they planned to cut ties with him at the earliest opportunity. On September 8, 2017, while a free agent, Brown was suspended an additional six games after the NFL continued conducting a previous investigation regarding his previous domestic violence case. Though the suspension was completed without Brown being on a team, it was believed to be the end of his career as teams were unlikely to take on the negative attention that would come with signing him.


NFL career statistics


Personal life


Legal problems

Brown was arrested on a fourth-degree domestic violence charge on May 22, 2015, in
Woodinville, Washington Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is east of Bothell. Woodinville has waterfront parks on the Sammamish River, a win ...
. According to the police report, the victim alleged that Brown grabbed her wrist while she was picking up a phone. The victim dialed 911 and alleged an assault. The police report states the victim's wrist had "redness" "and a small cut, possibly from a fingernail." On May 27, 2015, five days after the arrest, the charges were dropped by a prosecutor, according to a Washington state district court. Including the May 22 incident, at least eight physical assaults were reported to the police and twenty more were detailed with the King County Sheriff's Office. According to documents released by King County Sheriff's Office related to his 2015 domestic charge, Brown admitted to abusing his ex-wife. These documents were first obtained by NJ Advance Media. Some of the documents contained therapy journal entries that Brown wrote; one of the entries included Brown saying, "I have abused my wife." In an email, Brown wrote, "I objectified women and never really worried about the pain and hurt I caused them." The documents also contained a "Contract for Change" signed by Brown, his ex-wife, and counselor Jerry Price; this contract states that Brown had physically, verbally, and emotionally abused his ex-wife. Brown also admitted in the documents that he was molested as a young boy.


References


External links


Josh Brown Pro Football Reference

Nebraska bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Josh 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Tulsa, Oklahoma American football placekickers Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Seattle Seahawks players St. Louis Rams players New York Jets players Cincinnati Bengals players New York Giants players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players