Joey Browner, 3-time All-Pro defensive back with the Minnesota Vikings, dies at 65
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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.
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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. When he played, he was one of the best at his position.”
Browner was part of a football family. Older brother Ross Browner was an edge rusher who played 10 NFL seasons, nine with Cincinnati. Another older brother, Jim Browner, was a defensive back for Cincinnati in 1979 and 1980.
Younger brother Keith Browner played 65 NFL games for four teams. A nephew, Keith Browner Jr., appeared in three games as an edge rusher for the Houston Texans in 2014.
Native American community in Minneapolis remembers Browner
For years before his death, Browner was active in the Minneapolis Native American community.
Community members of the American Indian Cultural Corridor on Franklin Avenue in south Minneapolis said he frequented the Four Sisters Farmers markets held in the summer and was often seen at Pow Wow Grounds, an Indigenous-owned coffee shop.
At a rally in 2014, he stood alongside members of the American Indian Movement and spoke against the Washington football team's mascot and name before it was changed to the Commanders. At the rally, he spoke about his Indigenous heritage and wanting the football team to change their name.
Bob Rice is the owner of Pow Wow Grounds coffee shop. He remembers Browner joining Clyde Bellecourt, a founding member of the American Indian Movement, at rallies.
“Joey was more of a calm presence there. He wasn't particularly trying to stand out. He was there to support,” Rice said.
While Browner was a well-known Vikings player, Rice added that people in the Native American community knew him to be a calm person who may have liked the anonymity the community gave to him.
“He was just a guy. He acted like a normal — not a celebrity, so to speak. And when he came in here, I don't think a lot of people knew who he was. So, I think he liked coming in here for that fact,” Rice said.
Crow Bellecourt, Clyde Bellecourt’s son, remembers seeing Browner throughout the years in Minneapolis.
Bellecourt said he showed interest in cultural activities and events. Browner’s presence in the community has left a lasting impression on those who knew him.
“A lot of people in our community are mourning his loss. It was good to see him come around our community and just be with us. He's going to be missed,” Bellecourt said.
Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
