I chatted privately with one Colts player just as the news was breaking regarding the death of Jerry Brown. The first words out of this player's mouth were that Brown was a "nice man." When you look at what all the current and former Colts who played with Brown have said about him on Twitter, it's apparent he had a lasting, positive impact on them during his brief tenure in Indy:
R.I.P Jerry Brown..prayers out to his family and loved ones..man he was a great dude..smh
The tweets that, for me, really hit home as to just how devastating the news was came from former Colts offensive lineman George Foster, who was in training camp at Anderson, IN with Brown this year:
Somebody please tell be that this is not Jerry Brown that was with me on the Colts... Either way, it's bad, but...
A copy of the Irving Police Department's report on the accident which claimed the life of former-Colts linebacker Jerry Brown was tweeted to me. Here it is:
Jerry Brown's death has sent shock waves through the NFL, in particular the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys, the two teams Brown played for in 2012. Ryan Grigson, general manager of the Colts, has issued a statement regarding Brown (via George Bremer of the Herald Bulletin):
Grigson on Jerry Brown's death: On behalf of the entire Colts family, our sincerest condolences go out to Jerry's family and friends. #Colts
Brown was signed by the Colts in May as a rookie free agent, but was released in mid-October. He landed on the Cowboys practice squad, on the same team as his friend and former University of Illinois teammate, Josh Brent. It was Brent who, according to the police report, was driving a car while intoxicated early in the morning with Brown as his passenger. An accident caused the car to flip. Brown was unresponsive when police arrived, and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Brent was arrested on a charge of intoxicated manslaughter.