Deshaun Watson came back to Huntington Bank Field on Saturday and got a reception that made the moment impossible to miss.
It had been since Oct. 20, 2024, against the Cincinnati Bengals that Watson had played a game on his home field. That was the day he tore his Achilles’ tendon and was done for the season.
Under normal circumstances, a veteran returning from that kind of injury would hear applause. Instead, Watson walked into a wall of boos.
The crowd didn’t stop there. After his first series ended in a three-and-out and minus 1 yard, the boos grew louder.
They came again after another three-and-out on the next possession, when the offense gained zero yards. Then they hit once more after Watson threw an interception.
By the end of the day, the Browns had scored only seven points and converted just three of 11 third-down chances against Buffalo’s second-, third-, and fourth-string defensive players. Watson was the clear target of the frustration, finishing 5-of-12 for 36 yards with an interception.
Afterward, Watson said the reaction from fans goes beyond football.
“I think the whole world knows, it has nothing to do with the performance. It is a little bit personal. I think it is a disrespectful thing, so I’m going to keep how I feel between me and my family.
“The last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles, and this fan base cheered when I got hurt. What does that have to do with anything about my performance?
When a person gets hurt in their own stadium, and they cheer? I don’t regret anything … I was put in these situations for a reason.
It is what it is. Sometimes the tables turn.”
There’s no question a segment of Browns fans is going to boo Watson no matter what happens on the field, and the off-field baggage that followed him from Houston to Cleveland is part of that reality. Watson is also right to point to the reaction after his injury as a particularly ugly moment.
Still, it would be a mistake to pretend his play has nothing to do with how he’s received. Watson is heading into his fifth season with the Browns, and between multiple season-ending injuries and an NFL-mandated suspension, he has played in only 19 games and has not come close to lighting up the scoreboard.
In the next few days, Todd Monken will have to make the call on the Browns’ starter for the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Watson could wind up with the job, not because he has clearly won it, but because the alternatives aren’t exactly comforting for a team opening the year with a fifth-round pick whose biggest selling point is that he is not Deshaun Watson.
If Watson is the starter and is still holding that job when the Browns return home in Week 3, the boos figure to be even harder to ignore. And whether he says it or not, they’ll be tied to more than just the past. They’ll be about what he has done on the field, too.
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