The second preseason game could not have gone any worse for Deshaun Watson. The frontrunner for the starting quarterback position of the Cleveland Browns, he came in behind Shedeur Sanders in the interest of fairness in the QB1 battle.
But he had a disastrous night on the field, compounded by the home crowd in Cleveland mercilessly booing him. Rather than taking it on the chin, he chose to fire back at them.
As a result, one former scout believes the situation has become an abject disaster.
Deshaun Watson Needs to Prepare for a Long Year Ahead
Complaining about the reaction from the crowd, Watson alleged that it wasn’t a result of his performance. Instead, he believed the allegations against him and his off-field scandals had contributed to their disdain.
For what it’s worth, Watson has played 19 games for the Browns in four seasons, tallying 19 touchdowns against 12 interceptions in that timeframe. In this specific game, too, he completed five of his 12 passes for 36 yards while giving up an interception.
But it wasn’t just his anger at the boos from the crowd that informed his rant. Going a step further, he brought up old wounds as well, pointing to the crowd erupting in cheers when he sustained an injury in 2024.
Unfortunately, even with his side of the story, the court of public opinion stands firmly against him. Between the contract, the poor play, and the allegations against him, Watson received virtually no sympathy for his stand during the press conference.
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM: PFN’s Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator
Moreover, during an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s podcast, John Middlekauff explained how bad this was turning out for Watson.
“I think yesterday was a tipping point on Saturday. You can’t have a guy that your entire fan base just despises personally and professionally. It’s like, ‘Deshaun, yeah, they can’t stand you personally. [With] everything that happened off the field, we’re not idiots; we’ve all lived long enough now.'”
He added, “Most importantly, they might have been able to forget it if you could play, and you are objectively awful. I mean, terrible. And if you didn’t have an albatross of a contract, they would cut you like an undrafted free agent.”
While the Browns might stop short of outright cutting him due to the fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract he initially signed, Middlekauff believes his chances of being named the starter have gone up in smoke.
START PREPARING: PFN’s Free Fantasy Draft Simulator
“Monken said he’s going to name a starter, so my guess is Shedeur’s named, and I don’t know what they do. The other thing is, if financially they could release them, I don’t think another team would touch them.”
Effectively, he doesn’t think the three-time Pro Bowler has a career left in the NFL. “I would never say never because his agent is [David] Mulugheta, and that guy’s got a lot of juice. Sometimes you do favors; it’s business, but I think he’s as untouchable as any player in the league.”
It remains to be seen what direction Cleveland chooses to go. Monken confirmed that he won’t be making a decision based on just the second preseason game and the developments afterwards.
But with the entire fan base so vehemently against him, naming Watson the starter could alienate them even further.
