How Deshaun Watson Responded to Browns Fans Who Don’t Want Him To Win QB Job

The last time the Browns saw Deshaun Watson on the football field, he was getting carted into the locker room to the tune of boos from the crowd after he suffered a torn Achilles in October 2024.

For a time, it appeared that Watson might not take the field again for the Browns after that injury, particularly after owner Jimmy Haslam admitted that trading for him was a “swing and miss” and the Browns took two quarterbacks in the draft last year. Watson did not appear in a game last season, but could be playing for the Browns once again in 2026.

The trade for Watson in 2022 left a number of fans in an uncomfortable position, reckoned with how to root for their team after they willingly sent three first-round picks for a player facing over 22 sexual misconduct allegations and made him the then-highest-paid player in the league in terms of guaranteed money.

Now, the Browns and their fanbase are faced with Watson potentially representing the franchise again this season as he competes with Sheduer Sanders for the starting job.

"At the end of the day, I can't control who people support,” Watson told reporters of potentially not having the support of Browns fans. “Those are their own opinions. All I can do is be the best person I can be and showcase who I am as a person, player, and teammate, and what I represent as an individual. Outside of that, I can’t focus on what the outside is saying.”

Watson acknowledged he had emotions about the boos at the time but said “you grow out of it.” He said his biggest change as a person since he last played is he is now an introvert. “I don’t really get into all the outside noise like I used to,” he said. “I used to be social person back in the day and more open, but now I’m watching my surroundings, focus on the things that I need to focus on and that’s the ones that I really got love for and people that support me.”

“I’m in a way better space. I’ve matured. I’m in a great position, I’m happy, I’m enjoying life,” he said.

Over his first three seasons as a Brown, Watson was no more successful than any of the other CVS receipt-long list of quarterbacks the Browns have trotted out since returning to the NFL in 1999. In 2024, Watson ranked 38th out of 39 quarterbacks in EPA per play and 39th in success rate as he threw for 1,148 yards, five touchdowns and three picks while taking 33 sacks before going down with the injury.

Watson noted that he has not been fully healthy since Week 3 of the 2023 season as he’s dealt with the Achilles and shoulder injuries. He did not have any doubts he’d get another chance to become the starter in Cleveland due to internal conversations. Will he win the job?

How the Browns quarterback competition is going

Monken shared earlier this week that he likely will not name a starting quarterback before training camp as both quarterbacks have earned the chance to continue competing for the job. The Browns are currently taking part in mandatory minicamp and the quarterbacks have split the reps with Sanders taking first-team reps on Tuesday and Watson seeing those reps on Wednesday. The two quarterbacks will split reps on Thursday, the third day of minicamp.

Related: What Todd Monken Said About Browns QB Competition As OTAs Get Underway

“I just come, show up every day,” Watson said of the close competition. “He’s the head coach, he’s the one calling the plays, he’s gotta decide who he wants out there on the field. At the end of the day, I’ve got to show up and be ready.”

Watson shared that he’s known the Sanders family for a long time and that the two quarterbacks will continue to support each other as Monken ultimately decides who will win the competition.

“The way y’all look at things is different than how we look at things,” Sanders told reporters. “We come to practice every day being the best player we can be as an individual and as a good teammate. Y’all look at it as a competition. That’s not really nothing I’m focused on. I’m focused on developing as a player, getting as comfortable as I can in the offense and the scheme and playing with that confidence I had.”

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