Joey Browner, a six-time Pro Bowl selection during his nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and a member of the team’s Ring of Honor, died Saturday, the team announced. He was 65.
No cause of death was given.
Browner, who played 10 seasons in the NFL from 1983 to 1992, intercepted 37 passes during his career, returning three for touchdowns. He added three picks in the postseason, all of them coming during the 1988 season. He also forced 17 fumbles and recovered two. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown in 1984.
The #Vikings are mourning the loss of Ring of Honor Safety Joey Browner.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 29, 2026
Browner, a 6-time Pro Bowler and 4-time 1st Team All-Pro, was named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team and a part of the 50 Greatest Vikings announced in 2010.
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Browner was the 19th overall pick in the 1983 NFL draft out of USC and remains the highest-drafted safety in Vikings history, the Star Tribune reported.
“We’ve lost a great friend and one of the best Vikings teammates,” former Vikings tight end Steve Jordan said in a statement. “God blessed Joey with phenomenal talent and a big heart to love people and be a beacon of positivity. Truly, he will be missed.”
Browner was named a first-team All-Pro three times with the Vikings; he spent his final NFL season with Tampa Bay in 1992.
Browner, the third of four brothers to reach the NFL, was inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor in 2013. His older brother, Ross Browner, was an edge rusher who played 10 NFL seasons, nine with Cincinnati, ESPN reported. Another older brother, Jim Browner, was a defensive back for Cincinnati (1979-1980). Younger brother Keith Browner played five seasons with four NFL teams from 1984 to 1988.
Joey Browner’s nephew, Keith Browner Jr., played in three games for the Houston Texans, according to ESPN.
Harrison Smith, the only other Vikings safety to be taken in the first round (he was No. 29 in 2012), passed Browner and moved into fourth place all-time in team interceptions when he swiped his 38th career pass in December, the Star Tribune reported.
“He was a guy who helped define what it is to be a safety,” Smith told the newspaper. “We probably had kind of similar games: pretty physical guys but could also turn the ball over well. Been fortunate enough to talk to him (at training camp). Just an honor to be mentioned (with) him.”
Browner died the same day as former Vikings middle linebacker Jeff Siemon, the Star Tribune reported.
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