Joey Browner, 3-time All-Pro defensive back with the Minnesota Vikings, dies at 65
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Joey Browner, a three-time All-Pro defensive back who played nine of his 10 NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, has died, the team said. He was 65.
The Vikings announced Browner's death Sunday and said his family had informed the team. A cause of death was not released. A native of Warren, Ohio, who played in college at Southern California, Browner was selected by Minnesota with the 19th overall pick in the 1983 NFL draft.
It was the first time the Vikings had used a first-round pick on a defensive back. Blessed with a combination of speed and size for his position — he was 6-foot-2 and 221 pounds — Browner played for the Vikings from 1983-1991 and finished his career with 37 interceptions, the fifth most in franchise history. He also had 18 forced fumbles in 138 games for Minnesota.
Browner concluded his career by playing for Tampa Bay in 1992. He made the first of six consecutive Pro Bowl appearances in 1985, and he was a first-team AP All-Pro in 1987, 1988 and 1990. In the strike-shortened 1987 season, Browner helped the Vikings advance to the NFC championship game, which they lost to eventual Super Bowl champion Washington.
In 2013, Browner was inducted in to the Vikings' ring of honor. “Joey was one of those players that could transcend any generation of player,” former Vikings linebacker Scott Studwell said at the time. “He could’ve played today.