Sydney Brown (American football)

Sydney Brown (born March 21, 2000) is a Canadian American football safety for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Illinois.

Early years
Brown originally attended the London South Collegiate Institute in London, Ontario, Canada before transferring to Saint Stephen's Episcopal School in Bradenton, Florida in 2016, along with his twin brother, Chase Brown. Over his junior and senior seasons, he combined to have 132 tackles and three interceptions. He committed to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to play college football.

College career
As a true freshman at Illinois in 2018, Brown started all 10 games he played in and had 55 tackles and one interceptions. In 2019, his brother, Chase joined Illinois after a year at Western Michigan. That season, he started 10 of 11 games, recording 88 tackles, three interceptions and an interception returned for a touchdown. He started all six games in the Covid-19 shortened 2020 season, finishing with 36 tackles. In 2021, Brown started all 12 games, and had 81 tackles and one sack. He returned to Illinois for his senior year in 2022.

Professional career
Brown was ranked the #3 Canadian prospect ahead of the 2023 CFL Draft, but ultimately went undrafted.

Brown was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round, 66th overall, of the 2023 NFL draft. In Week 17 against the Arizona Cardinals, Brown recorded his first career interception and touchdown on the same play when he returned an interception 99 yards off a Kyler Murray pass. In Week 18 against the New York Giants, Brown tore his ACL, ending his season.

Personal life
Brown is the identical twin brother of Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown. The two were teammates at Illinois.