Deshaun Watson may have talked his way out of more than the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback job.
Watson completed 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards and an interception during Cleveland’s 31-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills. His performance was accompanied by loud boos from the home crowd, which he later called “disrespectful” and “personal.”
Watson acknowledged that his strained relationship with Browns fans could make every game feel like a road contest if head coach Todd Monken names him the starter.
“I feel like I get more love on road games than I do home games,” Watson said. “So if it is my spot and he does make me the name, maybe it’s 17 away games then.”
When asked if he could leave his animosity in the past, Watson responded: “I don’t know.”
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah viewed Watson’s emotional admission as a sign that his path to the starting job has disappeared.
“Coming out of what you’ve seen from the performance and where he is mentally and emotionally, how does he have a chance to win this job?” Jeremiah said. “He might even know it, and that was almost resignation, frustration bubbling up to the surface there. I don’t see the path forward. Where he is right now, I’m not sure he wants this job. He might want an opportunity somewhere else.”
Deshaun Watson Could Be Inactive on Game Days for Browns
Jeremiah believes the Browns should start Shedeur Sanders and elevate Dillon Gabriel into the backup role. That would leave Watson as Cleveland’s third quarterback and likely inactive on game days.
“At the draft, when they took Dillon Gabriel, in my evaluation, he was going to be a backup for 10-plus years,” Jeremiah said. “He’s a great teammate, will serve the starting quarterback and be comfortable in that role. Maybe took him a little earlier than I thought they should. He’s the No. 2 and you go with Shedeur Sanders. I don’t see a home for Deshaun Watson there.”
The Browns cannot simply cut Watson and escape his contract. His $46 million salary for 2026 is fully guaranteed, and releasing him would leave Cleveland with a massive dead-cap charge. Relegating him to a role where he is not in the picture at all might be their only route.
Browns Gave Deshaun Watson Another Chance
GettyShedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam publicly acknowledged last year that acquiring Watson had been a costly failure.
“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun,” Haslam said. “We thought we had the quarterback, and we didn’t. We gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Watson has made only 19 regular-season starts since joining Cleveland in 2022, posting a 9-10 record with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He missed all of last season while recovering from two surgeries on his right Achilles.
However, Watson worked his way back into the starting conversation under Monken and had been viewed as a legitimate threat — if not the frontrunner — to win the job.
His home return against Buffalo went in the opposite direction. Watson struggled while Sanders completed 9 of 11 passes for 74 yards, one touchdown and an interception that came on a deflected pass.
Monken offered a blunt solution when asked about the hostile reception Watson received.
“It comes with the territory,” Monken said. “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.”
Cleveland closes the preseason against the New England Patriots on Thursday, before opening the regular season on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 13.
Browns Urged to Make Drastic Deshaun Watson Move