Former NFL player Orlando Brown found dead

Former NFL offensive tackle Orlando Brown was found dead Friday in his Baltimore condominium.

The Baltimore Ravens, one of the two teams Brown played for in his 10-season NFL career, confirmed his death. Brown was 40. Published reports indicate that the Baltimore police do not have any reason to believe that foul play was involved at this point.

''We send our condolences to the family of Orlando Brown,'' Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. ''Everybody knew what he meant to this organization. We're forever grateful for what he did for the present team. We can't express enough sorrow for his loss.''

Brown — known as "Zeus" for his giant stature, even in a league full of giants — was infamously injured in the Dec. 19, 1999 Cleveland Browns-Jacksonville Jaguars game when referee Jeff Triplette threw a penalty flag that hit Brown in his right eye. Triplette had, like many officials at the time, weighted his flag with BBs. 

Brown went after Triplette on the sideline after the play, shoving the referee to the ground. The tackle was ejected from the game as he was booed by his hometown crowd, with the cause of the offensive tackle's distress not becoming clear until later. 

The incident temporarily cost Brown his vision and his right eye and forced him out of football for three years. Brown was in his second year of a six-year, $27 million contract, when the Browns released him in 2001. He later sued the NFL for $200 million.

He didn't receive the whole amount, and he was able to return in 2003 and play three more seasons with the Ravens, memorably starting at both offensive and defensive tackle against the Raiders. Brown finished the season with four tackles.

Browns tackle Tony Pashos played three seasons in Baltimore with Brown.

''He was a really good teammate,'' Pashos said. ''I came in under him as a backup. Even when Zeus wasn't on the team he came around and supported us. He loved us. He loved football. He could never walk away. Man, I can't believe it. I remember the attitude he brought to the building to the room. He tried hard. He told the young guys throughout practice to try hard and work on technique but then when it comes to games, it's about taking the other guy's will. And he was the apex of that. He did do that.''

Brown played with the Browns twice — for two different organizations. He broke into the league as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina State in 1994, and was a starter on the expansion Browns at the time of the 1999 incident with Triplette. 

Brown was originally signed by now-Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during his tenure with the Cleveland Browns. In a statement earlier today, Belichick called Brown a "true throwback player" and praised him as an athlete who "improved as a player as much as anyone I have ever seen, as he went from being a defensive lineman at South Carolina State to becoming one of the game's top offensive tackles"

FOX football analyst Brian Billick also coached Brown and praised him on the Ravens website earlier today, saying "There is no way to quantify his heart, his actual love to play football. The game was so important to him. This is such sad news. He was bigger than life.”

After his football career ended in 2005, Brown became the first Fatburger franchisee in Maryland, and was again in the news when charged with misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree burglary and malicious destruction of property. Both charges were later dismissed.

Wire services contributed to this report