This story has been updated with additional information.
CLEVELAND ― Deshaun Watson didn’t forget the cheers the last time he left the field. He didn’t ignore the boos the first time he ran back onto it, either.
The Browns quarterback was back in Cleveland to play a game for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon on Oct. 20, 2024. At that time, there were audible cheers from some fans as he was on the ground in pain.
Five seconds into the third quarter of the Browns’ 31-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 22, Watson ran back onto the field. This time, his presence was greeted by audible boos from some fans, and not just the ones wearing Bills jerseys.
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“Man, I didn’t have no reaction,” Watson said initially when asked about the reaction. “I think the biggest thing is — I think you guys know, too, and I think the whole world knows — it has nothing to do about the performance. It’s a little bit personal than that. So I think that’s a disrespectful thing. So, yeah, I mean, I’m going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. And, yeah, just move on.”
The boos only got louder as Watson’s four series in the second half progressed. He completed just one of his first four passes, for minus-1 yard, before finishing 5 of 12 for 36 yards with an interception and a 14.6 passer rating.
Asked why, considering the poor stat line, he didn’t believe performance could change the boos to cheers, Watson peeled back the curtain to that Sunday in 2024 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles,” Watson said. “And that same fan base, they cheered when I got hurt. So what does that have to do with anything about performance? When a person get hurt, especially for your own city, and they cheer.”
The reaction to Watson’s return has been something many have wondered about since it became clear he could become the Browns’ starter this season. He’s been locked in a battle with Shedeur Sanders since the offseason for the starting job.
Sanders started and played the entire first half, as Watson had done in the preseason opener at the Chicago Bears. He completed his first eight passes and finished 9-of-11 passing for 74 yards with a touchdown, a sack, a 87.1 passer rating and a message about what Watson heard from the crowd.
“Yeah, I mean, in general, I don’t appreciate that at all. Regardless of competition, we’re all human beings,” Sanders said after Watson spoke postgame. “I think we all need to understand that. In this room, too, we’re all humans. I don’t do things to humans that I wouldn’t want done to me. … For all the fans, we appreciate you showing up, and however you feel about the situation with Deshaun and everything, I think it’s more about a bigger purpose and it’s respect. It’s a respect thing that I feel should be there, because we’re all out there trying to do our best and serve the franchise the best way possible. We’re going out there to win games, doing everything we can. So I don’t really appreciate that.”
Browns coach Todd Monken appears close to finally naming the winner of that competition, maybe as early as Monday, Aug. 24. The Browns play their final preseason game at home Aug. 27 against the New England Patriots in a game that will be televised nationally on Amazon Prime.
Monken said on the team’s official pregame show he thought the decision could come “early next week.” He clarified his thinking a bit, although it still made it seem like it was more likely than not to come then.
“Again, I’ll wait until I see it tomorrow [Aug. 23],” Monken said. “Again, I’m just going to wait until then, until I get a chance to watch the tape and talk to the staff.”
The strain between the fans and Watson has been a steady build-up, some of it happening even before he arrived in a trade from the Houston Texans on March 18, 2022. It stems from more than two dozen lawsuits ― all since settled ― by women in the Houston area alleging sexual assault and/or sexual misconduct during massage appointments, all of which led to an 11-game suspension from the league to open his Cleveland career.
Since then, he’s only played in 19 of a possible 68 games, including season-ending shoulder and Achilles injuries in 2023 and 2024. He’s won nine of 29 starts, completing 61.2% of his passes for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 70 sacks and an 80.7 passer rating.
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The Browns open the regular season with back-to-back Florida road games in Jacksonville and Tampa. They play six of their first nine on the road as well, with back-to-back home games against the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers falling in a five-day span between Sept. 27-Oct.1.
“It’s a mental battle every day,” Watson said. “I feel like I get more love on road games than I do home games. So if it is my spot and [Monken] does make me the [starter], maybe it’s 17 away games then. I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Deshaun Watson calls boos from Browns fans ‘personal,’ recalls cheers after injury
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Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
