Deshaun Watson expressed contrition for his outburst after the Cleveland Browns’ loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 of the preseason. Notably, Watson mentioned the Houston Texans in his explanation.
The Texans traded Watson, who was named the Browns’ starter on Monday, in March 2022.
And yet, when explaining that is comments were indeed the result of pent-up frustrations from the moments on the field. He also noted how he had been with the Texans.
Deshaun Watson Walks Back Emotional Remarks
Watson opened with remarks addressing his previous comments before getting to his past with the Texans.
“First up, I wanna address the comments from Saturday after the game. I think, just human nature, just myself being very emotional, putting a lot of time these last two years to get back, and spending time in this facility, in the city, meeting a lot of different people in the community, I thought I was going to get a little different response. But I think my emotions got the best of me, and my comments wasn’t intending to go at any of the fans around in the city,” Watson told reporters on August 24.
“There’s been a lot of great fans that have been supporting me, and I know the frustration. This organization have put a lot of investment in coming to get me back in the in ‘22, and things haven’t been going the right direction that we thought it was. A lot of injuries, a lot of time off, and not pitting the best football and my foot forward. So again, just, I understand the frustration, I understand everything that kind of goes into that. And moving forward, I just want to focus on football, making sure that I’m putting the best product out there, having the best ability.”
Watson added, “I thrive off the energy. I thrive off the energy of the fans, I thrive off the energy of the community–I thrive off all that stuff. I think looking back in my history at Clemson, previous Houston organization, I was a big community guy, big city guy, big fan guy during the game.”
Deshaun Watson Admits Emotional Toll
Initially, Watson was not expected to go to the Browns when the Texans were exploring trade options. Now, he said he chose Cleveland because he wanted to help revitalize the franchise.
“Again, my emotions got the best to me. I’m a human. I take full responsibility of that. And just, moving forward, I want to make sure that I put the best part for the team for the organization and for the city, so we can put a lot of wins, and make sure that I celebrate and put Cleveland on the map,” he said.
The Browns also gave him a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
Watson was open about feeling like he is in a better mental space. He also said he felt better after getting what he felt off his chest. However, officially entrenched as QB1, Watson is also looking forward to turning his situation and the Browns around once again.
Deshaun Watson Breaks Silence, Name-Drops Texans After Official Announcement