One of the primary reasons so many in Cleveland and observers of the NFL in general felt that Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson would not be the starter in Week 3 was that it would be the team’s home opener. And the franchise, which has struggled to put together eight wins in the two seasons coming into this year, did not seem to want the spectacle of Watson getting booed again by the home crowd, as happened last month in the second preseason game of the year.
Watson had not been on the field in nearly two years, since he tore his Achilles tendon (for the first time), and the reaction of the crowd was tough for him to take, he later admitted. He claimed that fans had cheered when he suffered that season-ending injury, and that he was not sure he could handle the “negativity.”
As he said, a little more than one month ago: “It’s a little more personal than that. So, I think that’s a disrespectful thing.”
Deshaun Watson ‘Ready for Support’
But Watson insisted on Wednesday that he is hoping for peace when he takes the field against the Panthers on Sunday. The Browns are coming off an energizing win on the road against the Buccaneers, and Watson was at his best in the second half of that game. He wants to keep that momentum going.
Watson told reporters: “The biggest thing is, I don’t try to go at war with the fans, so the biggest thing is just, ready for support, ready for that energy, ready to get that big dub for the city of Cleveland and continue this great feeling we have this week. That’s my motto, is just, keep pushing forward and, you know, take advantage of the opposing team and get a W.”
Browns’ Todd Monken Explains ‘Young’ Comment
Watson has earned the backing of his team, especially after the Week 2 win. After that game, on Monday, coach Todd Monken explained that Deshaun Watson was still growing, still improving and still, “young,” which many took as an odd description of the 30-year-old quarterback.
Monken thought it over, and agreed it was an odd use of the word.
He explained: “I just mean how many games he has played the last five years, how much he has been around is and what we do, That’s all I was saying. It’s fair to think that, after being injured, bring out, right, that there’s going to be some kind of buffer there, some growing to do, some building back your confidence. That’s all part of it. I shouldn’t probably have said young.”
The Browns and their peaceful young quarterback will be on the field to face the Panthers on Sunday at 1 pm ET in Week 3.
Browns’ Deshaun Watson Makes Statement on ‘War With Fans’