Deshaun Watson: It’s Been This Bad For Years
GUEST POST BY SHAWN FINK
TL/DR — DeShaun Watson’s post-game petulance should cost him any chance at being named the starter for the upcoming Browns’ season.
First things first, I don’t really care for DeShaun Watson OR Shedeur Sanders; I don’t think either of them can lead The Browns – or any other team for that matter – to a winning record, let alone a Super Bowl.
Having said that, we’ll learn a lot about Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, GM Andrew Berry, and first-year Head Coach Todd Monken in the next 48 hours or so.
The Browns are expected to name their QB-1 for the season, this Tuesday, and after the defiant, ego-fueled, clueless presser DeShaun Watson held after Saturday’s pre-season game, moving ahead with Watson as the starter for the season, as most analysts assumed was the Browns intention before the game, would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions that would dwarf any one of the countless of bad decisions Browns ownership, management, and coaches have made since 1999.
Watson was booed at several points during the third quarter of the game on Saturday, but denied that his inability to move the ball (5-12, 36 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT, 14.6 Rtg.) was the reason for the boos, declaring instead that the booing was not about “performance”, but was “personal” calling it and the fans “disrespectful”.
Newsflash, DeShaun, of course the boos were “disrespectful”, by definition, booing is an act meant to demonstrate disrespect, and to follow up on that concept, respect is something that is earned. In football, you earn respect through competent, skilled, talented, successful gameplay; along with humility, and in Watson’s case, contrition. None of those have been hallmarks of Watson’s tenure in Cleveland to this point, and none were on display Saturday at Huntington Bank Field during or after the game, either
Watson is, of course, the QB who has started only 19 games in four seasons since signing with the Browns, garnering what was at the time the highest-ever salary for an NFL player, after having sat out the entire previous season with the Houston Texans.
One can assume the “personal” reasons for the boos that Watson referred to are.
The allegations that forced his departure from Houston, where more than two dozen women had accused him of sexual assault.
Watson, without admitting guilt, settled all of the cases for undisclosed sums of cash before any of them went to court. Does Watson feel even a bit of remorse over those allegations? Apparently not: “I don’t regret anything in my life”, Watson also declared at the same presser Saturday evening. In between, he called out the fans for cheering when the feckless QB tore his Achilles in October 2024.
That brings us to the decision the Browns face. Since 1995, when Art Modell ripped The Browns out of Cleveland and moved them to Baltimore, no team’s fan base has been more hopeful or patient. Since 1999, the fans have been willing to- right or wrong – overlook nearly any character flaw, speeding ticket, criminal offense, etc. in a player, as long as they’re successful on the field. Every Browns fan knows the history of starting QBs since ‘99, and would gladly support any quarterback who can produce on the field and win games.
Watson’s defensive shots at long-suffering Browns fans clearly demonstrate that he’s not the right man for the starting job. His utter lack of respect for a long-suffering fan base and refusal to accept responsibility for his past actions and poor on-field play should be warning signs to everyone on the Browns’ payroll and to the team owners that Watson is incapable of being a leader or accepting responsibility upon himself.
The stain and stink of the deal to acquire Watson, and his subsequent tenure here, which set the team back more than half a decade, will linger long after his contract mercifully expires at the end of this season. Only a winning team with success in the postseason will eventually ease the taint and embarrassment that has been The Watson Era (or better yet, Error).
If the pundits are correct, and the unspoken goal of this season is a “dignified tanking”, which will enable the team to draft their QB savior from an incredibly deep QB class in the 2027 draft, then the starting QB’s skillset will have little impact on that outcome.
Shedeur Sanders is just as capable of losing games – without undue influence by the front office or ownership – as DeShaun is. The important question is whether this team’s owners and GMs care at all about character – and signing Watson in the first place calls that into question with regard to the Haslams – if they do, then Sanders represents the higher road and should be named the starter without any hesitation. Trading DeShaun is not an option because of his insane guaranteed contract; likewise, cutting him would cost the team a fortune in regard to the salary cap. Perhaps the fitting end to DeShaun Watson’s career and time with the Browns would be to relegate him to third on the depth chart, behind Dillon Gabriel.
GUEST POST BY SHAWN FINK
