All signs pointed towards Deshaun Watson scewing himself out of the starting quarterback position. After it looked like he’d won the quarterback battle against Shedeur Sanders, the second week of preseason flipped the entire narrative.
Playing at home, the three-time Pro Bowler had a terrible outing before going after the Cleveland Browns fan base for booing him. Before the team named him the starter, Mike Florio of NBC Sports questioned if they were purposefully trying to cut ties with the fans.
Browns Made a Mistake Choosing Deshaun Watson
When he was first brought in, Watson was given a five-year fully guaranteed deal worth $230 million. Unfortunately, over the first four years of that contract, he’s only suited up in 19 games, recording 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Simply put, he’s been a disaster under center. But returning from a torn Achilles with Sanders as his only competition for the starting role, Watson was able to impress head coach Todd Monken enough.
However, the game against the Buffalo Bills should have flipped the story. Completing 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards and an interception in front of a rabid home crowd that was mercilessly booing him was a bad look in itself.
But then, Watson pushing back against his team’s fans for voicing their opinion and even digging up old wounds from the time of his injuries seemed like a death sentence. After his press conference, his spot on the roster, let alone as the starting quarterback, was called into question.
START PREPARING: PFN’s Free Fantasy Draft Simulator
Still, the Browns chose to give him the starting nod once again, announcing Sanders as the backup. For Florio, though, the move will only further antagonize the crowd against their quarterback.
“This was my original conclusion. Number 1: He can’t play for them again, and number 2, they’re surely sufficiently non-dysfunctional to know that,” the veteran insider said on “Pro Football Talk” before Watson was announced as the QB1.
“This is an entertainment business that relies upon individuals choosing to give up their time, their money, their emotion, and there is a point where you’re giving your fans a double-barrelled flaming middle finger. You can’t do it,” Florio added. “You cannot have him on the field again.”
BE THE GM OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAM: PFN’s Free NFL Mock Draft Simulator
Going a step further, he even argued that the choice wasn’t good for the former Houston Texans star either, given his anger towards the fans for long-festering wounds.
If the Browns put Deshaun Watson on the field again, it will be a double-barreled flaming middle finger to their fans. pic.twitter.com/TrkRhcQNyC
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 24, 2026
“He doesn’t wanna be there; it’s not good for his mental health,” Florio said about Watson. “It’s not good for your business. The interests align for different reasons. He cannot play for the Browns again.”
But there is an albatross that is hanging around the Browns’ neck as well.
“They need him to get through this year on the team,” Florio continued. “If they cut him or trade him, four years of proration that they’ve carefully layered, boom, all goes into one year, and it’s like $90 million. So they need to keep him on the team. They just need to do with him what the Texans did with him five years ago. Pay him and not play him.”
Unfortunately, it looks like the Browns didn’t listen to Florio and are going to be playing him, at least for the time being.
It remains to be seen if the decision changes later down the line during the season. But for the time being, he is poised to take the field as their Week 1 starter to lead an offense that ranked last on PFN’s Offense Impact Rankings last season.
How that decision pans out in real time, and the reaction of the fan base to it, will be a sight to see.
