Brown was drafted second overall by the Miami Dolphins in the 2005 NFL Draft. Brown started at running back for the Dolphins for the first four weeks of the season while Ricky Williams served a suspension, and shared carries with him when he returned in week five. Brown became the feature back in 2006 due to Williams' full year suspension. Brown sat out three games due to a broken hand suffered on Thanksgiving Day in a game against the Detroit Lions, returning in week 16. He played in the first seven games of the 2007 season before suffering a knee injury which knocked him out for the remainder of the season. Williams started over Brown in the first two games of the 2008 season, but shared carries with him after week two. Brown had 916 yards and ten touchdowns in 2008, which led to his first Pro Bowl selection following the season. He was placed on injured reserve for the second straight season after suffering a foot injury in week nine of the 2009 season. Brown rushed for 734 yards and five touchdowns in 2010, as he started in all 16 games. He signed with the Eagles in August 2011 following his six-year career with the Dolphins, and was traded to the Lions in October.
Early years
Brown attended Cartersville High School in Georgia, where he was a three-year starter and rushed for 4,936 yards, 12 touchdowns. In his senior year, he earned the Georgia Class 2A Player of the Year award when he gained 1,931 yards on 206 carries and scored 25 touchdowns. That year, 1999, Brown led Cartersville to a state championship over Hart County - their first since 1991. During his high school career, he was selected to the PrepStar All-America team. He also played free safety and had three interceptions in his senior year. Brown was also an accomplished baseball player and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners out of high school.
College career
Brown moved on to Auburn University to play NCAA football and major in communications. He teamed up with speed running back Carnell Williams to create a premier running threat of speed and power. He Redshirted after playing in the first two games of the 2000 season as he only gained 10 yards on six carries. In 2001, he played in 10 games and ranked third on the team with 330 yards on 84 carries and two touchdowns while catching seven passes for 109 yards.
Brown enjoyed his best season in 2002 when he gained a career-high 1,008 yards on 175 carries (5.8 avg.) with 13 touchdowns while subbing for the injured Williams. He also had nine receptions for 166 yards (18.4 avg.) and a touchdown. However in 2003, with Williams healthy and starting, Brown's statistics dropped as he carried the ball only 95 times for 446 yards (4.7 avg.), recorded five touchdowns, and had eight receptions for 80 yards.
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| Brown on the sideline at the 2004 AU-UGA game. |
In 2004, Brown shared duties with Williams and started seven games. Together with Jason Campbell, Coach Tommy Tubberville called them the best backfield in the past 30 years as they lead the team to a 13-0 record. He totaled 913 yards on 153 carries and scored eight times. He also displayed his receiving capabilities as he ranked second on the team with 34 catches for 313 yards and a touchdown.
Although he started only 21 of 47 games for Auburn he finished his career ranked seventh in school history with 2,707 yards rushing on 513 carries while ranking fifth with 28 rushing touchdowns. Brown also had 58 receptions for 668 yards and two touchdowns.
Stats
2000: 6 carries for 10 yards and 0 TD.
2001: 84 carries for 330 yards (3.93) and 2 TD. 7 catches for 109 yards.
2002: 175 carries for 1008 yards (5.76) and 13 TD. 9 catches for 166 yards and 1 TD.
2003: 95 carries for 446 yards (4.69) and 5 TD. 8 catches for 80 yards.
2004: 153 carries for 913 yards (5.97) and 8 TD. 34 catches for 313 yards and 1 TD.
Professional career
Miami Dolphins
Brown entered the 2005 NFL Draft and was drafted with the 2nd pick of the 1st round by the Miami Dolphins. Fellow Auburn University HB Carnell Williams was also in the draft and was selected with the fifth pick in the first round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brown held out of training camp due to a contract dispute and as a result was not successful running the ball in the first two weeks of the season as he rushed for only 93 yards on 34 carries (2.7 avg.) and no touchdowns. However, he got on track in Week 3 as he rushed for 132 yards on 23 carries (5.7 avg.) and his first career touchdown. He followed this up with a successful Week 4 performance rushing for 97 yards on 17 carries (5.7 avg.). But during Week 5, he had to again share rushing duties with another premier running back, this time Ricky Williams who was returning from a four-game suspension. Brown ended up having only about forty more rushes than Williams during the 2005 season, and was well on pace for a 1,000 yard campaign if it wasn't for them sharing the football. Ronnie ended up with 207 rushes for 907 yards (4.4 avg.) and 4 touchdowns while having 32 receptions for 232 yards and a touchdown.
With Ricky Williams suspended for the entire season, Brown entered 2006 as the feature back for the Miami Dolphins. The offensive line and offense in general struggled for the Dolphins, making it difficult for Brown to consistently produce at a high level. He had a breakout game on October 15 loss to the New York Jets, rushing for 127 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Three weeks later he rushed for a career high 157 yards against a stingy Chicago Bears defense, helping the Dolphins to an upset victory of the previously undefeated Bears. On a Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions, Brown suffered a broken left hand from a hit by a defender's helmet. While he missed the next three contests, Brown returned for the final two games of the season and posted back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances against the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets. In 13 games played, Brown finished with 1,008 rushing yards, 276 receiving yards, five touchdowns and a solid 4.2 average.
During the team's minicamp in May 2007, Brown revealed that he is eight pounds over his listed playing weight of 232, and would like to cut his body fat from 12 percent to 8 or 9 percent. During week 7, Ronnie Brown injured his knee making a tackle during an interception return and was lost for the season. At the time of his injury he was leading the league in yards from scrimmage and was on pace for over 2,200 total yards on the
season.
Before the 2008 regular season started, Tony Sparano, announced Ricky Williams would be the starting running back. During the first two games Brown carried the ball 17 times for a total of 48 yards and one touchdown. Before the New England Patriots game Ronnie Brown was made the starting running back and has been featured in the Dolphins' popular Wildcat formation, which borrows from current Auburn University OC Gus Malzahn's college spread offense. Since then, Brown rushed the ball 127 times for 557 yards and eight touchdowns. Brown also threw for a touchdown in week 3 against the Patriots.
Although he split carries with teammate Ricky Williams, Brown still had a solid 2008 season rushing for 916 yards on 214 carries, an average of 4.3 ypc.
Brown with the Dolphins in 2009.
Brown was also selected to the 2009 Pro Bowl as a reserve running back.
For the 2009 NFL season Brown played and started in nine of the sixteen games of the regular season. During these nine games Brown managed to carry the ball 148 times for a total of 648 yards averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Brown also managed to rush for eight touchdowns. Brown in addition to rushing the ball managed to complete 14 passes for a total of 98 yards. During the 11th week of the regular season; Brown suffered a right foot injury against Tampa Bay and was placed on injured reserve. Brown's injury caused him to miss the remainder of the season.
In 2010 Brown became a restricted free agent but signed with the Dolphins again. As of July Head Coach Tony Sparano has declared Brown 100% healthy.
On March 19, 2010, Brown was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol outside Atlanta.
In September 2010, Brown received a continuance and his next court date will be on October 14, 2010 at Marietta (GA.) Municipal Court, although Brown does not have to be present.
Philadelphia Eagles
On August 2, 2011, Brown signed a one year $1.0 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. It is reported that there are incentives in the contract that could take the value over $1 million.
Detroit Lions
The Eagles traded Brown to the Detroit Lions in exchange for running back Jerome Harrison and a seventh-round draft pick in 2013 on October 18, 2011.
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