Longtime Bengals DE, former Notre Dame star Ross Browner dies at 67
Longtime Cincinnati Bengals defensive end and former Notre Dame All-American Ross Browner died on Tuesday, his son announced.
He was 67.
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my Father, Ross Browner. The world has lost a Titan, @CFBHOF member, @Bengals Legend, but he was most proud of being an @NDFootball alumnus. Our hearts are heavy but he is at peace now. pic.twitter.com/GfySnefdyV
— Max Starks IV (@maxstarks78) January 5, 2022
“The world lost a Titan,” Browner’s son, Max, wrote on Twitter. “Our hearts are heavy but he is at peace now.”
Browner, according to Bengals.com, died due to complications from COVID-19 — something he had been battling for about a month.
The Bengals mourn the passing of Ross Browner and remember his infectious laugh that lit up the locker room.
— xz - Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 5, 2022
Browner was a four-year starter at Notre Dame and helped lead the Irish to a pair of national titles in 1973 and 1977. He won the Outland Trophy, which is given to the country’s best lineman, in 1976 and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting after his senior season. He still holds school records for most career tackles by a defensive lineman with 340, per the Associated Press, and most tackles for a loss with 77. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
Our entire program mourns the loss of Irish legend, Ross Browner. pic.twitter.com/eLBig6Uv5d
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 5, 2022
Browner was selected by the Bengals with the No. 8 overall pick in the 1978 draft. He spent nine seasons with the Bengals and one with the Green Bay Packers before he retired after the 1987 season. He helped lead the Bengals to their first Super Bowl in 1981, and had 10 tackles and a sack in that loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He sits fifth on the Bengals’ all-time sack list with 59.
"That big laugh. Heh, heh, heh," former wide receiver Isaac Curtis told Bengals.com. "You could hear it all over the place. He brought sunshine into the locker room. He just had that energy that was contagious."
