The Browns make it a family affair with recent signing of Dustin Colquitt
By Chad Porto
The Browns have made it a family affair on Sunday.
Sure, it’s not like having the Steiner Brothers, Harlem Heat, or cousins Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady on your team but the Browns have reached out to a familiar commodity to fill in for Jamie Gillan. Cleveland has signed Dustin Colquitt to fill in for Gillan, who is out for Sunday’s game due to being in COVID health and safety protocols.
Colquitt joins his brother, Britton, as brothers who have both played for the Browns. Britton played for the Browns for three seasons, from 2016-2018.
They weren’t the only brothers who have suited for the Brownies, as both Luke and Josh McCowon played quarterbacks. Luke was drafted by the Browns in 2004 and only spent one season in Cleveland before moving on and playing across the league for several years, notably as a New Orleans Saints player from 2013 to 2016. His older brother Josh who last played in 2020, played for Cleveland in 2015 and 2016, starting 13 games. In those 13 games, he threw for over 3,000 yards, with 20 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions.
The brotherly love runs deep in Cleveland, beyond just the Browns
Joining the trend of siblings who played for the Browns, you also have guys who played for the team before the modern era. Guys like Jerry Ball and his half-brother, Anthony Malbrough. Then there’s Preston and Lew Carpenter, Jim and Lin Houston, and Ed and Dick Modzelewski.
If you thought Cleveland was the only team that could claim siblings, you’d be wrong, as the Browns and Guardians have been involved in some cross-sports family dynamics. Former Cleveland players LeRoy Kelly had a brother Pat on the Guardians.
Ron Johnson came out of Michigan to play for the Brownies in 1969, while his brother Alex Johnson played for Cleveland in 1972. Former Brownies backup, Mike Pagel, had a brother on the Guardians in the early 80s named Karl.
While 1999 Browns expansion player, Terry Kirby, also had a brother who played baseball in Cleveland; Wayne Kirby, who started playing for the Guardians in 1993.
Lastly, future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski had two brothers play in the area, in Gordie and Dan Gronkowski. They don’t however count, as Dan played for Cleveland, while Gordie played for the non-MLB affiliated Lake Eerie Crushers.