“It's a disrespectful thing”: Deshaun Watson hits back at Browns fans with brutal reminder after getting booed

Deshaun Watson walked off the field Saturday carrying more than a rough stat line. Cleveland's home crowd spent the second half reminding him exactly how they feel about his four years in a Browns uniform, and this time he wasn't willing to just take it and move on.


What started as scattered boos over a couple of incomplete throws turned into something sharper once Watson reached the podium. He didn't dodge the question, and he didn't soften his answer either. Instead, he gave Browns fans a reminder they probably didn't want to hear.

Deshaun Watson blasts Browns fans over brutal reception

The boos started the moment Watson jogged onto Huntington Bank Field for the third quarter of Cleveland's preseason game against Buffalo, a 31-7 loss that got uglier the longer it went. His first pass fell incomplete, and the crowd let him know about it. When his second series ended in a three-and-out, they let him know again.


Watson had heard enough by the time reporters found him afterward. "It's a disrespectful thing," he said of the reaction, making clear this wasn't about Saturday's performance at all. He said he'd keep the rest of what he felt between himself and his family, then added that he planned to move on from it.


That wasn't quite where the conversation ended, though.

Fans cheered his Achilles tear, and Watson hasn't forgotten

Watson pointed to something specific that still gnaws at him. The last time he played a game at this stadium, back in October 2024, he tore his Achilles tendon. Instead of sympathy, some fans in the building cheered. “Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles. And that same fan base cheered when I got hurt," Watson added.


He hasn't let that go. Watson argued there's no version of a fair fan reaction that includes celebrating an injury, regardless of how someone feels about a player's production. It's part of why he now views the boos as personal rather than a response to bad football.


Shedeur Sanders, the rookie competing with Watson for the starting job, wasn't shy about siding with his teammate on this one. He said he doesn't respect fans booing Watson simply for entering a game, since Watson is out there working just like everyone else on the roster.

Sanders outplays Watson as starting job hangs in the balance

The numbers on Saturday didn't help Watson's case, even if his complaint about the fans stood on its own. Sanders opened the game and played the entire first half, finishing 9 of 11 for 74 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Watson relieved him in the third quarter and struggled against Buffalo's second- and third-string defenders, going 5 of 12 for 36 yards with an interception of his own.


Head coach Todd Monken didn't sugarcoat the crowd's treatment of Watson, calling it unfortunate, but he also made clear that the starting job will come down to performance rather than public opinion. Monken had hoped to name a starter by early next week. After Saturday, that timeline suddenly looks a lot less certain.


Watson's relationship with Browns fans has been complicated well before this season, shaped by a $230 million contract, an 11-game suspension in 2022, and a string of injuries that have kept him from ever completing a full year in Cleveland. Team owner Jimmy Haslam admitted last year that the trade for Watson has been a swing and miss for the franchise, and Saturday's reception suggested plenty of fans feel the same way.
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