Keith Browner dies: Former USC captain, NFL linebacker was 63

Former USC and NFL linebacker Keith Browner died Tuesday morning in San Leandro, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau confirmed Wednesday. He was 63 years old.

Keith Browner Jr. told TMZ that he talked to his father Monday night when the elder Browning was having stomach problems, vomiting and feeling tired. Browner Jr. said his father told him he would go to the hospital tomorrow morning.

Browner was getting ready to go to the hospital on Tuesday morning, according to TMZ, “when he flipped over on the side of the chair and fell to the floor next to his girlfriend.” TMZ also reported that Browner “appears to have suffered a heart attack” and that his death was “unexpected and sudden.”

Alameda County officials did not release a cause of death Wednesday.

Born in Warren, Ohio, Browner was the fifth of six siblings, all of whom played college football and four of whom played in the NFL. A second-round pick (30th overall) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1984, Browner also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders and San Diego Chargers during a five-year NFL career.

Older brother Ross Browner spent 10 years in the NFL, playing for the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers. Jimmy Browner Jr. played two years with the Bengals. Joey Browner was a six-time Pro Bowl player who spent nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and one with the Buccaneers.

Browner Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps as a college and pro football player. A standout defensive end at Dorsey High, Browner Jr. played three seasons in California and one season with the Houston Texans.

A nephew, Ross Browner’s son Max Starks, played nine years for the Pittsburgh Steelers and one for the St. Louis Rams.

Browner — who was 14 when his father Jimmy died of cancer at age 49 — said his mother Julia was the driving force behind her sons’ passion for the sport.

He told the Dayton Daily News in 2023, “She’s the one who always asked us to play, and sometimes she would be in the yard with us when we had pick-up games.”

A three-sport standout at Warren Harding High, Browner spent four seasons at USC (1980-83), joining brother Joey for the first three. He was named captain for his final season and finished his college career with six interceptions in 34 games.

Browner made the 1984 NFL All-Rookie Team. After three years with the Buccaneers, he split the 1987 season between the 49ers and Raiders before spending his final NFL season with the Chargers.

He finished his NFL career with 10.5 sacks, four interceptions (including a 55-yard return for the Chargers against the Seattle Seahawks in 1988) and five fumble recoveries, then played two seasons in the Canadian Football League and six in the Arena Football League.

Browner is survived by his son and four daughters.