The Cleveland Browns had dragged their quarterback decision for far too long. They had two choices: on one side, Deshaun Watson, a seasoned veteran trying to find his way back after losing the entire 2025 season. On the other, Shedeur Sanders, the young quarterback. Well, Cleveland has finally made the call. But the timing of that decision is making for a far more interesting story than any other announcement itself.

“Just in: Deshaun Watson has been named Cleveland’s starting quarterback for week 1 at Jacksonville,” ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter reported on X.

Now, the timing matters because the announcement came just one day after Watson found himself at the heels of an uncomfortable moment with the Browns fanbase. During Cleveland’s 31-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills, the 30-year-old was booed after a tough outing. And let’s just say Watson didn’t hide his feelings about the fan base.

“It has nothing to do about the performance,” Watson said of the boos. “It’s a little bit personal. I think that’s a disrespectful thing. I’m going to keep whatever I feel with me and my family internally on how I feel about that. Just move on.”

But even so, head coach Todd Monken made it clear that Watson’s comment would have no impact on his QB1 decision, and he kept his word. He handed Watson his first regular-season start since he tore his Achilles in Week 7 of the 2024 season. And he gave his reasons.

“Took in the full body of work over the course of offseason to training camp to the games and the joint practice, and ultimately, felt like to start the season on the road, Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points,” Monken said. “And that’s really what it’s about. I felt that way going into the last game, but wasn’t sure. And after we talked as a staff and after we re-looked at everything, we’re going to go in that direction.”

For the Cleveland faithful, however, that explanation remains a tough pill to swallow. The rift between them runs deep after all.

In four seasons, Watson has appeared in just 19 games. He served an 11-game suspension in 2022 following sexual misconduct allegations, missed 11 games in 2023 with a shoulder injury, suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 7 of 2024, and re-tore the same Achilles in January 2025, costing him the entire 2025 season. For much of the Cleveland fan base, those were enough reasons to dislike him.

The boiling point arrived during his 2024 injury, when fans cheered as he was carted off the field. 

“Last time I played on this field, I tore my Achilles, and that same fan base, they cheered when I got hurt,” Watson said. “So what does that have to do with anything about performance? When a person gets hurt, especially for your own city and they cheer.”

Given all the backlash Watson has faced, one question is hard to avoid: why are the Browns still sticking with him? For that, you have to rewind a little and look back at the quarterback Watson used to be.

Why Watson and not Sanders

Before arriving in Ohio, Watson put up elite numbers across 54 games with the Houston Texans, accumulating 14,539 passing yards, 104 touchdowns, and just 36 interceptions, alongside a 104.5 passer rating and a 67.8% completion rate. That Pro Bowl resume convinced the Brown to trade three first-round picks and hand him a massive $230 million contract. And that’s precisely the second reason why the front office doesn’t want to waste their “big swing and miss.”

The veteran still has a $40 million cap hit this year, which marks the final year of his contract. So that, and the position of being the senior member of the Browns’ QB room, is exactly why he got the green light. But the decision to go with Watson does not come as a surprise. Reports already suggested the veteran was leading the competition.

Critics also suggested that the competition was a sham, pointing out that Sanders was not receiving an equal opportunity in the process. Cleveland radio host Tony Rizzo was particularly blunt about it on The Really Big Show.

“All these kids, their teams get behind them. They try to develop them. They give them the most amount of reps, Rizzo said. “They are not handing anyone a job. I’m not asking for that. But to say that he’s [Shedeur Sanders] been treated fairly here, it’s ridiculous.”

The preseason dynamic only stoked the fire. Watson got the start against Chicago, completing 11 of 15 passes for 126 yards to outshine Sanders (6-for-11, 79 yards, 1 INT). But when Sanders got the nod against Buffalo, the script flipped: Sanders threw for 74 yards and a touchdown (9-of-11), while Watson sputtered, completing just 5 of 12 passes for 35 yards and an interception.

Head Coach Todd Monken however did acknowledge Sheuder’s efforts.

“Ultimately, we felt over the course of training camp and the offseason that he was ahead of Shedeur,” Monken said. “Shedeur has closed that gap, for sure, and that’s a credit to him, and we look forward to Shedeur continuing to grow as a player.”

Now with that decision out of the way, it seems like Watson itself has had a change of heart. He went on to give a public apology to the Dawg Pound, talking about how the emotions got the better of him.

Watson offers an apology to Cleveland fans

“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 spend time in this facility, in the city, meeting a lot of different people in the community,” Watson said in a recent presser. “I thought I was gonna 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, cause there’s been a lot of great fans that have been supporting me.”

He also clarified that he wasn’t trying to attack the entire Cleveland fan base, while also acknowledging that the frustration of his time in Cleveland is understandable.

“And I know the frustration; this organization have put a lot of investment in coming to get me back 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 putting the best football and my foot forward.”

But will that be enough to melt the heart of a fanbase that remains iffy about him? Well thats a different question. Monken has one piece of advice for him, and maybe that’s the only way to win over the fans.

“Win, play good football, and everybody will be fine. That’s just part of it.”