The QB saga in the Cleveland Browns franchise is never-ending. The entire offseason, it was Deshaun Watson vs Shedeur Sanders for the QB1 spot. Now it has turned into the Browns fanbase vs Deshaun Watson. And a former Cleveland Browns starting QB has given his two cents about the situation after Deshaun Watson stirred heavy controversy by calling home crowd boos “disrespectful” and “personal” following a 31–7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills. 

“It was frustrating to hear, as a former Browns QB, as a guy who grew up loving the Browns, still do because it just lacked any sort of self-awareness,” Brady Quinn reasoned on 92.3 The Fan. “It lacked any sort of the fact that, hey man, you’ve been paid a lot of money.

“And I understand that you’re frustrated that maybe people cheered when you got hurt, but you know the job. Like, you know the job you signed up for. And when you’re playing bad, you know, and you get booed off the field, and they put the next guy in there and cheering for him, it’s kind of the same thing.”

Deshaun Watson had a poor outing against the Bills. He completed just 5 of 12 passes for 36 yards at a disappointing 41.67% pass completion rate and also threw an interception. 

In his statement after the game, Deshaun Watson explicitly said that the booing had nothing to do with the performance. The last time Huntington Bank Field saw Deshaun Watson under center before last Saturday’s preseason game was in the 2024 season, when he tore his Achilles. According to the veteran QB, the Browns fans had cheered after he got injured in that game. 

However, Quinn was not pleased with the way Watson expressed himself.

“He’s taking out his frustrations in a moment when he was vulnerable, and he’s obviously had a lot of time to think about it, and kind of in that moment kind of unleashed maybe some emotions,” Brady Quinn further added. “But he also has to understand, like, this is a fanbase that’s dying for a winner. You know, you were brought in with the expectation to be that. You were brought in with the expectation, with that contract, to be there for the long haul. And he hasn’t been there often, and he hasn’t been good when he has been in. 

“It’s as simple as that. It’s not personal, it’s just business. And that’s the reality is these fans are paying their hard-earned money to come watch a product on the field, and they want to see you perform.”

Since joining the Browns, Deshaun Watson has been unavailable due to injuries or suspensions throughout his Browns stint.

In the 19 games that he did manage to start in, Watson has been nowhere near the standards he displayed with the Houston Texans, from where he was signed by the Cleveland Browns on a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal.  

In 19 games, Deshaun Watson has only thrown for 3,365 yards and 19 TDs, for a 61.2% pass completion rate. His QB record in his Browns career is 9-10-0. 

“An apology is fine, but I’m sure there are a lot of people who kind of came away saying, ‘Look, man, you’re going to be our starter, and you need to go up there and say something because this isn’t going to be good. We’ve got a couple weeks away from home, but when we come back, if you’re still the guy, you’re going to get booed again, especially if you don’t play well.’ So I’m sure that was part of the motivation for the apology,” Brady Quinn concluded. 

Deshaun Watson was named the starter in Week 1 against the Jaguars as the Browns hit the road for their preseason opener. Watson previously stated that he gets more support at away games than at home games. According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, one of the reasons behind HC Todd Monken’s decision to start Watson is that the game is in Jacksonville. The Week 2 fixture is an away game for the Browns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

With the upcoming 3rd and final preseason game vs the New England Patriots (also away from home), Watson has 3 golden opportunities to prove himself to the Browns fanbase and win them over, so that when the team returns to Huntington Bank Field for their Week 3 game, the fans are actually behind Deshaun Watson instead of against him.