Pharaoh Brown (born May 4, 1994) 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 ...

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 ...

for the

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

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 was signed by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

following the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. 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

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

Early life

Brown grew up in

Lyndhurst, Ohio Lyndhurst is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and an eastern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 14,050 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. A small part of Lyndhurst was originally part of Mayfield Township, Cuyahoga ...

, where he played football and basketball at Brush High School, graduating in June 2012. During the college recruiting process, Brown initially committed to play for

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in May 2011, but ultimately signed his

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term she ...

to play at Oregon in February 2012.

College career

Brown played

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. During his first year with the

Ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

(2012), he was only targeted 3 times making 2 receptions for 42 yards. The following year, Brown appeared in 7 games making 3 starts and made 10 receptions for 123 yards, and 2

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. During his junior year, Brown would make his most touchdown receptions during his collegiate career at 6, while appearing in 9 games and starting 8. He made 25 receptions for 420 yards. Brown did not play football in 2015 due to a leg injury suffered during the 2014 season, during a game against

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

where he tore two ligaments in his knee. In Brown's senior year (2016), he would again appear in 9 games and start 8 of them, while being targeted 46 times and making 33 receptions. He scored 5 touchdowns while receiving for 426 yards.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Following the

, Brown was signed by the

as an

on May 5, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017, and was signed to the Raiders'

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 23, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Brown was waived by the Raiders.

Cleveland Browns (first stint)

On September 25, 2018, Brown was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

' practice squad. Brown was elevated to the Browns' active roster on October 23. He was placed on

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 December 8, with a shoulder injury. Brown re-signed with the Browns on April 20, 2020. He was placed on the active/ physically unable to perform list at the start of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

on July 29, and activated from the list ten days later. Brown was waived by the Browns on September 6.

Houston Texans

On September 14, 2020, Brown was signed to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

practice squad, and promoted to the active roster the next day. In Week 10 of the 2020 season against the Browns, he had his first professional touchdown. Brown re-signed with the Texans on March 24, 2021. He played in 15 games with 12 starts, recording 23 catches for 171 yards. On March 24, 2022, Brown re-signed with the Texans. He was waived on October 4.

Cleveland Browns (second stint)

On October 6, 2022, Brown was signed by the Browns. He played in 13 games for Cleveland, hauling in 5 catches for 45 yards.

Indianapolis Colts

On April 10, 2023, 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 ...

. Brown was released by Indianapolis on August 29.

New England Patriots

On August 30, 2023, Brown was signed to 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 ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 4. On September 24, Brown scored his first touchdown for the Patriots vs 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 a 58-yard touchdown from

Mac Jones Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones (born September 5, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). Jones played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he set t ...

Seattle Seahawks

On March 12, 2024, Brown signed with 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 ...

. He made 15 appearances (7 starts) for Seattle, posting 8 receptions for 65 yards.

Miami Dolphins

On March 14, 2025, Brown signed a one-year contract with the

References

External links

Miami Dolphins bioOregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Pharaoh 1994 births Living people American football tight ends Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Indianapolis Colts players New England Patriots players Oakland Raiders players Oregon Ducks football players Players of American football from Cleveland Seattle Seahawks players Miami Dolphins players