Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has regularly been booed in Cleveland, and that may happen again on Saturday, when the Browns play their preseason home opener. Watson isn’t worried about it.
Asked what kind of reaction he thinks he’ll get from Browns fans on Saturday at the stadium, Watson said it doesn’t matter to him.
“I don’t care. I don’t care,” Watson said.
It’s obvious why Watson gets booed: Trading for him has proven to be the single worst roster transaction in NFL history. The Browns gave up three first-round picks, a second-round pick, a third-round pick and a fourth-round pick to get Watson, then gave him an unprecedented five-year, $230 million gully guaranteed contract. For that, Watson has played a total of just 19 games in four seasons, and has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL in those 19 games. And the Browns made the move for Watson despite knowing he had been accused of sexually assaulting some two dozen massage therapists, accusations that resulted in Watson being suspended for the first 11 games of his time in Cleveland.
The reality of sports fandom is that despite all that, if Watson earns the starting job this year, plays well, and the Browns win, the fans in Cleveland will cheer him. But he hasn’t heard many cheers through his first four years in Cleveland.
