Jonathan Brown (gridiron football)

Brown was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. As a rookie in 1998, Brown recorded 10 tackles and a fumble recovery during the pre-season[4] and then played in four games during the season but did not record a stat.[5] After initially making the Packers final roster in 1999, he was released on September 1.[4]

Brown signed with the Denver Broncos and joined their practice squad in December 1999.[4] He finished the season on the active roster but never made an appearance.[4]

After the 1999 season, Brown signed with the Berlin Thunder for the 2000 NFL Europe season.[4] He led the NFLE with 10 sacks, 30 tackles and two forced fumbles.[4] After the season, he was named the NFL Europe Co-Defensive MVP.[4]

During the 2001 offseason, Brown signed with the St. Louis Rams and later joined their practice squad.[4] On October 23, he was signed to the Rams active roster and helped the Rams make a Super Bowl appearance against the New England Patriots.[4] For the season he totaled three appearances with no recorded stats.[5] He was released in September 2002.[4]

Brown was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFLE Free Agent Draft by the Amsterdam Admirals. For the season he posted a team high 6.5 sacks and 26 tackles and was named All-NFL Europe.[4]

He signed with the Toronto Argonauts on May 27, 2004 and became a starting defensive end for Toronto.[4] He started 16 games and missed two due to injury.[4] His debut for the Argonauts came against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the first week of the 2004 season. In his debut he recorded five tackles.[4] Arguably his best game of the year came in Week 17 against the BC Lions where he recorded four sacks and added seven tackles on defense.[4] Against the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL East championship he had two tackles and recovered one fumble.[4] In the Grey Cup he had five tackles in a Toronto win.[4]

Brown re-signed with the Argonauts for the 2005 season on June 16.[6] He was named a CFL All-Star and an East Division All-Star after recording 13 sacks to finish second in the CFL.[4] Brown started in all 18 games for Toronto all at defensive end. In week 4 of the season he recovered a fumble that turned into his first career CFL touchdown.[4] Against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in week 11 he recorded his second highest sack total in a game with three.[4] Three weeks later against Edmonton he had three tackles and two sacks.[4] In a rematch against Montreal in week 16 he recorded a sack against Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo which resulted in a safety.[4] Once again, Toronto faced Montreal in the CFL East championship game and Brown recorded two tackles in the Argonauts loss.[4]

For the second straight season, Brown was named a CFL East All-Star in 2006.[4] He led Toronto in sacks with six and for the second straight year he started all 18 games.[4] Brown recorded three tackles, two sacks and was a runner up for the defensive player of the week during week five.[4] He caught his first career interception against Hamilton in week 12. He returned the interception for 29 yards.[4] For the third straight year Toronto appeared in the playoffs. In the CFL East semi-final game, Brown recorded two tackles in the overtime win over Winnipeg.[4] Against Montreal for the third straight year he had two tackles in Toronto's second straight loss in the division championship.[4]

On January 10, 2007, Brown signed a contract extension through 2008. He was named CFL East Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in his career.[4] He was named a CFL All-Star for the second time in his career and a CFL East All-Star for the third time.[4] He was also nominated as an All-Time Argo at the defensive end position.[4] Adding to his awards he was named a CFL Pro Players All-Star for the first time in his career.[4] Brown tied a career-high with 13 sacks which was second in the league.[4] In week three he had two tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery which led to a Toronto touchdown.[4] Against Montreal in week six he had six defensive tackles, one special teams tackle and a sack.[4] He had four tackles and a sack in week nine against Hamilton.[4]

Brown was named a CFL East All-Star for the fourth year in a row in 2008 and was named East Division Most Outstanding Defensive player.[4] Also for the fourth straight year he led the Argonauts in sacks with seven.[4] Against Winnipeg in Week 1, he had three tackles and a sack.[4] Brown recorded four sacks, a sack and a fumble recovery against Edmonton in week six.[4] After recording two sacks in week six against Winnipeg he passed Harold Hallman for most sacks in Toronto Argonauts team history.[4] In the last game of the year against Saskatchewan he recorded six tackles.[4]

On August 19, 2010, it was announced that Brown had signed with the BC Lions.[7]