Flash back two months, and the idea that the Cleveland Browns would somehow be thriving at 4-2, in first place in the AFC North, with Deshaun Watson leading the way at quarterback would have sounded more than a little absurd. That’s because after a disastrous appearance in the team’s second preseason game, against Buffalo at Huntington Bank Field, quarterback Deshaun Watson took the odd step of unloading on the local fans, who had booed him during the game.
It was a flashpoint for a fan base that was bitter over the albatross $230 million contract that had been given to Watson in 2022, and for the bitterness Watson had been harboring since tearing his Achilles tendon on his home field in 2024–and hearing fans cheer for his injury.
Watson aired his frustration. He said he was not sure he could handle the negativity from Cleveland fans. And he seemed to char the remains of his Browns career–and perhaps his NFL career–in doing so.
Deshaun Watson ‘Let it Go’
That was the consensus from the Browns media, at least. For coach Todd Monken, there was some opportunity there–everything was now in the open, Watson had unburdened himself of his frustrations, and there was a chance to move forward from there.
Monken appeared on the Ryan Clark podcast, “The Pivot,” and explained he had a frank conversation with Watson. He shed some light he has not shed before.
“After the Bills preseason game, we had kind of a heart-to-heart because he emptied himself to the media,” Monken said. “And I just said, ‘Only you know this, but have you let it go? Like, I mean, was that something that’s been with you two years? You can say you’ve let it go, but we go on the road, we come back home and they might boo you. Like, it might not be as much fun as we would like here. So, where are you at?’
“And I really felt like he had let it go, like he had gotten that off his heart and that if we would play well on the road, like any fan base.”
Browns Turn Boos to Cheers
Monken went on to explain how much extra juice that gave the turnaround he saw in Week 4, when Watson took the field at home in the Pittsburgh win to a loud ovation.
Said Monken: “So here we go from being booed, to they don’t want him as the starter, to hell, we’re playing the Steelers, and we introduce him last coming out of the tunnel, and they cheer the heck out of him. And that just goes to tell you what our fans really want. They want good football. They want our players to play well. They want something to cheer about, something that gives them optimism.
“I think Deshaun has worked awfully hard to get back to where he’s at 22 months and he has let it go.”
Browns’ Todd Monken Reveals Details of Deshaun Watson ‘Heart-to-Heart’