Deshaun Watson’s NFL career should be over Saturday.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback, who is expected to start at quarterback for the Browns this fall, was booed by his home fan base after just about every play during a preseason game in Cleveland.
Watson claimed that the boos were “disrespectful” and added that he noticed fans also cheered when he got injured last season.
“It has nothing to do about the performance. It’s a little bit personal than that. It’s a disrespectful thing,” he said.
“Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles. And that same fan base cheered when I got hurt.”
The fans are booing, of course, because Watson has been a disaster in more ways than one since getting traded to Cleveland. He was suspended by the NFL after being accused of misconduct by more than a dozen female massage therapists. He hasn’t appeared to show much remorse.
Now, he’s getting booed by his own fans.
How can this continue?
Watson’s career might be over
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote on Sunday that Watson’s time in Cleveland needs to end.
“At a deeper level (and it’s not much deeper than the surface), it’s time for this failed experiment to end. The fans don’t want him. And, given the way the fans responded to him during his last two games in Cleveland, Watson no longer wants them. He was surprised and bothered by the boos he heard on Saturday. And he’s still upset by the fact that fans cheered when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during the 2024 season,” he wrote.
It certainly feels like this will end in extremely ugly fashion in Cleveland.
But will another NFL fan base treat him any differently? There will be less history for Watson in a new franchise, of course, but it’s not like those fans aren’t familiar with him. It’s likely that he’ll be booed by many of those fans, too.
At this point, it’s tough to see Watson finding the kind of NFL home that he needs.
