Former Browns OL Orlando Brown dead at 40

FILE - In this Dec. 19, 1999, file photo, Cleveland Browns lineman Orlando "Zeus" Brown leaves the field after he was ejected for shoving referee Jeff Triplette in the second quarter of an NFL football against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Brown, a former member of the Browns and Baltimore Ravens, was found dead Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, at his Baltimore home. He was 40. The cause of death wasn't known. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

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Former NFL offensive lineman Orlando Brown, who played for the Browns and the Baltimore Ravens, has died. The Ravens announced Brown's death today.

Brown was found dead at his Baltimore home, and the cause of death wasn't known, the Associated Press reported. He was 40.

Brown, whose nickname was "Zeus," played right tackle for the Browns from 1994-95, the Ravens from 1996-98 and the Browns again in 1999. During the 1999 season, referee Jeff Triplette inadvertently hit Brown in the eye with a penalty flag. Brown responded by pushing Triplette  to the ground and later filed a $200 million lawsuit, alleging the injury to his eye had ended his career.

Brown and the league reportedly reached a $25 million settlement in 2002, and Brown made a comeback a year later. He played for the Ravens from 2003-05, during which time he was a teammate of Browns offensive lineman Tony Pashos.

"I remember the attitude that he brought to the building, the room," Pashos said. "He tried hard and he told the young guys, too, throughout practice to try hard on technique and everything, but when it comes down to a game, it's about taking another guy's will. He was the apex of that."

Browns offensive lineman Oniel Cousins said he spent time with Brown not long ago during the league's lockout.

"The last year I was in Baltimore, (Brown) wasn't on the team," Pashos said. "But he still came around. He still supported us. He loved us. He loved football. He could never walk away."