Deshaun Watson’s brief appearance with young fans before Thursday’s preseason game became its own story in Cleveland, and not for the reasons the Browns would have wanted.
ESPN Cleveland posted video of Watson in street clothes along the railing, smiling, posing for selfies and being labeled QB1 in the clip. The timing made it impossible to separate from the noise already swirling around him after Saturday’s Bills loss, when he heard boos from home fans in his first local snaps in 22 months.
Watson went 5-of-12 for 36 yards and an interception in that game, then pushed back at the reaction afterward.
“I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do about the performance,” Watson said. “It’s a little bit more personal than that. So I think it’s a disrespectful thing.”
A few days later, the sideline moment with the kids landed online, and Browns fans weren’t buying it. Replies piled onto the ESPN Cleveland post, with plenty of people calling the scene fake or forced.
“Looks hella staged 👑,” one fan said. Another wrote, “Who paid these kids?
‘Hey guys we will upgrade you and your family to lower bowl, you will get autographs from select players’ Select player:….” Others piled on with, “Publicity stunt🙄,” “I swear I’m not even trolling, why this shi look staged dawg 😂,” and “This ain’t real!
Those fans can’t stand Deshaun Watson! 🤨🤨”
The Browns didn’t use Watson in the preseason game against New England. Todd Monken rested starters, and Shedeur Sanders sat as well, while Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green handled the snaps. That made the meet-and-greet the only Watson moment of the night.
Watson had been named the Week 1 starter on Monday, with the team citing the full body of work. After the boos and the backlash, he softened his earlier comments.
“My emotions got the best of me,” Watson said. “I’m human. I take full responsibility of that.”
He also said, “I feel like I get more love in road games than I do home games.”
That came against a backdrop that has already made every Watson reaction feel loaded: injuries, an 11-game suspension, and a $230 million guarantee. Cleveland is 9-10 in his 19 starts, and the tension around him had already turned ugly before the kid video showed up. Signs were placed on the Jim Brown statue, and jerseys were thrown into fire pits.
The Browns still handed him the job over Sanders. Watson’s first regular-season home game is Week 3 against Carolina, with Jacksonville and Tampa on the road first.
The video from the railing won’t have much shelf life, but the response was immediate and loud. Staged.
Paid. Fake.
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