Ross Browner, one of the top defensive linemen in college football and a star for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL, died of complications of COVID-19 at the age of 67. He had the illness for about a month.
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 has lost a Titan,” Browner’s son and former NFL lineman Max Starks said. “Our hearts are heavy but he is at peace now.”
Browner starred at Notre Dame before becoming the eighth pick in the 1978 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
A two-time All-American, Browner was named the winner of the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best lineman for the Fighting Irish and the Maxwell Trophy as the nation’s best player, the only lineman to win it in the 1970s.
Browner holds school records for career tackles by a defensive lineman with 340 and career tackles for loss with 77.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
Browner started 121 games in his nine seasons with the Bengals and retired after playing 11 games with the 1987 Packers.
He had 62.5 sacks, all but one with the Bengals.
