His heart is willing, as are his spirit and unquestioned drive, but in the end, Courtney Brown's body failed him in two injury- marred seasons with the Broncos.

The team released the veteran defensive end, who was designated as having failed his physical, Monday when it formally added backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey to the roster. Ramsey agreed to terms on a contract last week, but the deal was officially filed with the league Monday.

For Brown, the release might mark the end of a star-crossed career. As the first pick in the 2000 draft - the first defensive end to be selected first since Bruce Smith in 1985 - Brown entered the league with plenty of promise.

Joe Paterno once said Brown was the best player at his position Paterno had seen. The universally liked Brown has heard coaches, trainers and teammates say for years they would want their children to grow up to be like him.

The unassuming Brown took a significant pay cut in March 2006 when he signed an extension through 2009 to help the team's salary-cap cause, and he was the first Broncos player to donate money to the fund started to aid Darrent Williams' children with future education and health-care costs after Williams was killed in a drive-by shooting Jan. 1.

Broncos defensive tackle Gerard Warren has said Brown is "probably the best person I'll ever meet, a guy who has deserved a lot better than he's gotten back from the game. . . . He always seemed to end up on the wrong end of the stick when it comes to injuries."

That he did. Brown did not play in the 2006 season after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee during training camp, then a more serious microfracture surgery on the knee at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in October.

It was the fourth surgery Brown has had on the knee, his second microfracture procedure; the other was in 2002.

Some players can have difficulty rebounding from one microfracture surgery, let alone two.

He missed one game with injury - a dislocated elbow - in 2005, his first season with the Broncos. Brown had 38 tackles and two sacks in two seasons with the team.

Asked just before the end of the 2006 season if he expected to make it back on to the field, Brown said simply, "I'm always hopeful. I'll keep working and see what happens."

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359