Brown, 36, was arrested Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport after he was allegedly discovered with a concealed firearm at a security screening station.
Authorities discovered Brown's gun about 2 p.m. at the security station for Terminal 6 departures, said LAX police Lt. Karla Rodriguez.
Brown was taken into custody and transported to LAPD Pacific Jail for booking, Rodriguez said. He was booked for suspicion of possession of a concealed firearm.
He was held for more than nine hours in lieu of $10,000 bail before being released on bond just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
Brown was a first-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech in 2008 and has started more than 200 games in the NFL since then, earning numerous awards along the way as a member of both the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks.
The 6-foot-4-inch, 315-pound left tackle is currently a free agent, according to pro-football-reference.com.
It was unclear whether Brown was in Los Angeles to meet with one of the two local teams, the Rams and/or the Chargers.