Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
By Megan Armstrong on

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Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken is still in the process of choosing Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders as the starting quarterback. Browns fans made their preference known during the team’s preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills in Cleveland on Saturday.

Sanders started the game, so Watson didn’t play until the second half. Once he took the field, Watson was met by relentless boos.

Fans could have booed over Watson’s sordid off-field history, including dozens of sexual assault and sexual misconduct allegations. They also could have booed Watson over poor play. The former star has only played in 19 games since the Browns acquired him from the Houston Texans — and paid him an unprecedented fully guaranteed salary — in March 2022. Watson has not played since October 2024, when he tore his Achilles.

Regardless of the source, Watson didn’t appreciate the booing.

“I didn’t have a reaction,” Watson said during his now-infamous postgame press conference. “The biggest thing is, I think you guys know, too — I think the whole world knows — it has nothing to about the performance. It’s a little bit [more] personal than that. I think it’s a disrespectful thing. So, yeah, I mean, I’m gonna keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally.”

When asked whether “winning and playing better” could alleviate some fans’ frustrations, Watson cited Browns fans cheering when he tore his Achilles.

“Um, last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles,” Watson said. “That same fan base, they cheered when I got hurt, so what does that have to do with anything about performance? When a person gets hurt, especially for your own city, and they cheer?”

“I don’t regret anything in my life,” Watson said when asked whether he regretted coming to Cleveland. A particularly tone-deaf choice of words.

Watson added that he “isn’t tripping,” citing his faith. Later, Watson explained that nobody ever approaches him negatively in public — just on social media or in the stadium — and expressed disappointment that his efforts over the past two years haven’t won over Browns fans. “It’s a mental battle every day,” he said.

Sanders defended Watson, but beyond that, Watson earned immediate and intense backlash for his comments. Check out reactions from across sports media below.

About Megan Armstrong

Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.

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