More than three years after his career was nearly ended by an errantly-tossed penalty flag that struck him in the eye, offensive tackle Orlando Brown is back in the NFL, with ESPN.com learning that he has agreed to a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens.

Brown, 32, was sought by four other teams and sources said he turned down an offer from the Minnesota Vikings that would have paid him nearly triple what he will earn from the Ravens in 2003. The one-year deal will afford Brown with an opportunity to re-establish himself in the league and then become a free agent next spring.

Sources said that Brown will earn about $1 million this season, but ESPN.com learned that will have to return half that to the NFL under terms of the lawsuit he recently settled. He has not been on the field since the next-to-last game of the season with the Cleveland Browns in 1999.

As ESPN.com first reported last month, Brown reached a settlement with the NFL on his $200 million lawsuit after several months of wrangling, and was anxious to resume his career. The settlement includes a confidentiality clause but is rumored to be worth $15 million-$20 million.

Brown opted to eschew the Vikings more lucrative proposal because his children live in the Baltimore area and he wanted to be close to them. He also has a strong friendship with Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome, who indicated at last month's predraft combine workouts that the Ravens would likely consider signing him.

In recent weeks, Brown visited with several NFL teams interested in filling their need for a prototype strongside power blocker. The verdict: While most teams felt that Brown still had a long way to go in terms of conditioning, all were confident he could regain a form that made him one of the league's best right tackles before the injury. Most surprising, said two coaches who worked out Brown, was his still-proficient footwork.

The Vikings ardently sought Brown and sources said he was actually their No. 2 target overall in the offseason.

Brown has been working out regularly at the International Performance Institute in Bradenton, Fla. The facility is owned and operated by sports management giant IMG, which represents Brown through agents Tom Condon and Ken Kremer.

A six-year veteran, Brown was rated as one of the NFL's top strongside tackles before the eye injury, and at 6-feet-7 and 350 pounds, was an imposing force. He played in 90 games and started 84 of them before the injury.

It appeared Brown might attempt a comeback late last season. But the settlement took longer to complete than anticipated and it was not certain at the time that Brown would pass a team physical examination. Four franchises, among them Washington and New England, indicated interest in Brown at the time.

Brown, nicknamed "Zeus," was injured on Dec. 19, 1999, when he was struck with a weighted penalty flag that was thrown by referee Jeff Triplette. He was ejected from the game and suspended by commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

He reached an injury settlement with Cleveland in 2000, when he was released after being unable to rehabilitate the injury, then sued the league in March 2001, charging the NFL failed "to properly supervise and enforce rules that flags be properly weighted and thrown in a proper fashion."

Like many game officials, Triplette had weighted his penalty flag with BB's.

Brown had signed a six-year, $27 million contract with the Browns in 1999, a deal that temporarily made him the NFL's highest paid offensive lineman.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.