Derek Brown (tight end)

Derek Vernon Brown (born March 31, 1970 in Fairfax, Virginia) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League.

In his final two seasons at Notre Dame, he displayed receiving prowess with 37 catches for 545 yards and 5 TD.

He was drafted 14th overall in the 1992 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Oakland Raiders, and the Arizona Cardinals. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame and attended high school at Merritt Island High School.

Brown missed the entire 1995 season as the result of a hit from Denver Broncos safety Tim Hauck during a preseason game. He suffered bruised ribs, a collapsed lung and damage to his spleen and kidney. He was in the hospital for 10 days and in a wheelchair a few weeks after that. Brown now resides in Clifton Park, New York with his wife, Kristin, his daughter, Sydney, and his son, Reece.