Deshaun Watson’s return to the field in Cleveland did not come with a warm welcome, and Todd Monken made it clear after the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills that there’s really only one way to change that.
Watson was booed throughout Saturday’s game, his first home appearance since his season-ending injury in 2024, and the reaction never softened. The crowd let him have it from the start, and even a subpar outing did nothing to calm things down. Some fans even cheered when he went down with what was clearly a serious ailment, a sign of just how far the relationship has deteriorated.
Afterward, Watson said the criticism felt “personal” and tried to separate the boos from his play. Monken wasn’t buying that explanation.
“I know you’ve asked him, hey, how it feels to get booed?’ It’s a pretty easy question, it sucks," Monken said.
"I don’t want to get booed. It comes with the territory.
You don’t want to get booed? Let’s play good football.
Let’s play good at quarterback, on offense and as a team, and then you won’t have to worry about all that, because it can turn just like that. Win, play good football, and everybody will be fine.
That’s just part of it. I told him, ‘You good?
We’re good.’ That’s part of what we do.”
Watson had already stirred things up before kickoff by saying he didn’t care if he was booed at home. Then came the postgame explanation, where he pointed to his time away, his work back from two Achilles injuries, and the effort he’s put into the city.
“I thought being away for two years and working myself back from two Achilles injuries and putting the time in and being around the facility, being around the city, doing charity work in the city, supporting the Cleveland Browns, hanging out with fans whenever I do see them, being honest, being the type of person that I know I am and the character would help,” Watson said.
“And I guess it hasn't. So that's why I say it's personal.
So it is what it is. People have their own opinions.
There's only so much you can do to change that. So at the end of the day, I just have to continue to just work on it and strive to be better mentally moving forward.”
But the on-field reality has been hard to ignore. Since arriving in Cleveland in March of 2022, Watson has played in only 19 games, gone 9-10, thrown for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, completed 61.2 percent of his passes, and never played more than seven games or passed for 1,500 yards in a season.
That’s the part Monken kept circling back to: play better football, and the noise changes. Don’t, and the boos stay put.
Watson’s defenders can point to the time away, the rehab, and the community work. But the source of the frustration in the stands is obvious, and Monken’s answer cut right through the drama. If Watson wants the crowd to treat him differently, the performance has to change first.
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